


Beautiful Trauma

by SarynotSary



Category: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: Cheating, Complicated Relationships, F/M, Heartbreak, Love, and a whole lot of shit, prepare for a wild ride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-05 09:24:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 40,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15860829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarynotSary/pseuds/SarynotSary
Summary: Owen Grady is happily living his life at Jurassic World with his fiancée, but when his raptor training activity is required to become a park attraction, he comes face to face with Operations Manager Claire Dearing: an Ice Queen for her employees, but an intriguing puzzle for him.





	1. For Now

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is my first attempt at writing fanfic after having spent about six years reading every possible kind. I apologize if sometimes my writing can seem a bit rushed, but I'm improving chapter by chapter! I'll be posting quite frequently, I already have the first 8 chapters done soooo... hope you enjoy it!
> 
> PS: I know JW is sponsored by Samsung but I can't stand it, so, in my fic, Apple is the main sponsor. Sorry not sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, just so you know, The title of this story comes from a song by my favourite artist, P!nk. I'll try to name every chapter after one of her songs, too, adding a couple of lyrics from said title at the beginning of each one, that are significant to the piece of story developing afterwards. Hope you like this!  
> Oh, and I rated this M just because of some strong language and somehow explicit innuendos, nothing more hahaha

_Remember that time we were just kickin'_  
_But nothing had changed, nothing was really different  
Then love showed its teeth like it was something vicious..._

* * *

 

The sun was rising on Isla Nublar. Another day at Jurassic World was starting: visitors began to come out of the hotel, new ones were disembarking the first ferry boat of the day at the dock and park employees were getting ready for their shifts.

 

Operations Manager Claire Dearing was also starting her day, high heels clicking on the hallway floor on the way to her office, Starbucks cup in one hand, iPhone in the other and flawless, sharply cut red bob gracing her face and caressing her shoulders. After briefly greeting her assistant, Zara, she entered her office and slumped into her black leather chair, sighing at the thought of her main task of the day: finally meeting with the team of raptor trainers to check their progress. It would be her first time, despite the raptor training project having started some months ago, as her employer and CEO of Jurassic World, Simon Masrani, had taken the matter into his own hands, meeting and discussing it with InGen, the company that actually founded the project; she was told it was going pretty well, though, so it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the raptor show would become an open park attraction, which meant Claire would have to know everything she could about the new assets and soon-to-be employees, their trainers. Despite being thrilled about the prospect of a new, tourist-drawing attraction that would certainly increase the park’s income, she didn’t like the thought of leaving her air conditioned office to spend the afternoon in the humid, hot central american summer. But she pushed the thought away and started to focus on the paperwork ahead of her.

 

* * *

 

 

On the opposite side of the island, raptor trainer Owen Grady was just starting to stir in the bed in his bungalow by the lake, lazily opening his eyes to focus on the brunette lying beside him: Sarah, his fiancée. They had moved in together on the island after Owen was offered the job, Sarah (being a dinosaur enthusiast herself) accepting that of general supervisor responsible for the herds of herbivores roaming Isla Nublar. The two had been in a relationship for almost five years and planned on getting married only after getting serious answers about the experimental raptor project, so they could settle down and begin a -pretty unique- life together.

 

“Morning” Owen said, lazy smile playing on his face.

 

“Morning to you too” replied Sarah. She then took a glance at the alarm clock, which read 08:04 AM.

 

“Shit!” She exclaimed “We slept in. I need to be at the triceratops enclosure like, in twenty minutes!”

 

And with that, she hurried out of bed, quickly got her face presentable and changed to her work uniform, didn’t bother eating breakfast, grabbed her gear and slammed the door, yelling at Owen to ‘move his ass too’ from outside, seconds before the engine of her Jeep roared off towards the center of the park.

Owen rubbed his eyes, still having to take in everything that just happened. He, on the other hand, didn’t really have a strict work schedule (at least not until he would start working for the park), but he remembered the planned, official meeting with the park boss he had that afternoon, and thinking of the whole preparation he needed to do before that, he got out of bed and lazily started his day too, hopping on his motorcycle and roaring off to the raptor paddock.

 

* * *

 

It was a particularly hot afternoon on Isla Nublar, so Claire blasted the AC in her Mercedes while driving to her main destination of the day. Once she reached the raptor paddock, she was immediately greeted by Vic Hoskins and other InGen members. Hoskins immediately scanned her whole body, trying to compliment her but obviously failing, given his creep attitude and totally obnoxious manners. She was glad he would be present on the island less and less, once the project came to life. So she swallowed the bitter retorts that she wanted so much to address him, managed a fake smile and followed him to the small building. The plan was to have a brief talk with the staff and then be shown the actual action of dinosaur training.

 

“Everybody!” Hoskins announced “This is miss Claire Dearing. Operations Manager of Jurassic World, and your future boss, shall I add, once you show her how amazing our beasts can be” He continued, the smug smile never leaving his features.

 

Sitting at the table, among his colleagues, was Owen, who had been waiting in the room for several minutes now. He glanced up as the ‘park boss’ was finally introduced to him. He was expecting a high corporate, clean shaven and suit-clad middle aged asshole,so the moment he laid eyes on Claire, he was slightly taken aback.

 

A _woman_. A stunningly beautiful, red haired young woman. He couldn’t suppress the tiny smile that formed on his lips as he took her in, her green doe eyes scanning the room and bossy attitude coming out of her every pore. She looked strict, sure, but there was also something else about her, that told him she certainly had a soft side, suppressed by all the responsibilities she had on herself- as she occupied the second highest rank in the Jurassic World company. Her body language was strong, imposing, but he suddenly felt the urge to crack it.

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts, as Hoskins began to introduce his colleagues to Claire.

 

The atmosphere was quite casual, nothing too strictly professional, as Claire managed a tight-lipped smile and took in her testosterone-filled surroundings. There was a table at the center of the small room, at which were sat the four young men who formed the ‘Raptor Squad’, ready to meet her: two rather young boys, probably in their mid twenties, were introduced to her as Danny and Paul, who helped working with the dinosaurs by doing basic -but still rather dangerous- tasks, such as feeding them and cleaning their enclosure, but didn’t really take part in the training process.

 

“…Then these two brave men here” Hoskins proceeded, pointing to the two men on the far right “are the raptor trainers. Barry Dupont and Owen Grady”

 

Before Claire could even process the new information, though, Barry stepped up:

 

“Well, I am more of a helping hand with training. Owen, right here…” he said, putting a hand on Owen’s shoulder and shaking it slightly “…is the Alpha. The girls only truly listen to him” he finished with a trusting smile, glancing back and forth between his friend and his bosses.

 

Claire had been following each person as they spoke, always keeping a professional and rather superior attitude, but when her eyes finally focused on Owen, she had to briefly regain her composure. He was now standing casually next to Barry as he was being introduced. Tall, sandy brown hair, a few days worth of stubble and… _strong as fuck._ Like he came out of a fashion magazine instead of the Navy, as Hoskins had briefly added. Claire thought she had never seen someone so attractive. He was dressed in a henley, cargo pants and combat boots, not really her outfit standards for a man, but there was just _something_ about him, that arose a giddy feeling in her stomach. He was _so ruggedly handsome_. But the moment Claire felt her mind starting to drift, she mentally slapped herself and went back into Boss Mode.

 

“Alright” she uttered, not quite able to form a full sentence. Then took a deep breath, which did quite the trick. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Let’s talk about your progress then, shall we?” She managed to say, regaining her corporate façade.

 

“Of course. Please, take a seat, miss Dearing” Vic replied.

 

As she did, she felt Owen’s eyes on her. She dared to look up, and he was already smiling at her. She just shyly smiled back, not quite knowing another non-icy way to respond to the gesture, still trying to keep it professional but failing. He saw right through it and she felt it. The feeling in her stomach was back.


	2. My Signature Move

 

_I've got a way_   
_Of making everything a confrontation  
And you've got a way  
Of bringing out the worst in me_

_You see, it's just if I'm bored_   
_I'll find a way to make an accusation..._

 

 

* * *

 

 

Owen’s ride home from the paddock was filled with thoughts about how well his raptor training demonstration had gone. The girls had listened to every command perfectly, like Border Collie puppies, but also, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of Claire’s eyes on him and how she blushed a little every time he looked up at her during the session.

 

 _Claire Claire Claire._

 

She was stuck in his brain since the moment he first laid eyes on her. There was just _something_ about her that he couldn’t really pinpoint, that made him want to just tear her walls down and get her to show the vulnerable personality she sure had. He didn’t know why. It could sound a little misogynistic, like, ‘the head of the whole park is a woman, no way she can be that strict and professional’, but he knew it wasn’t that. Maybe it was the habit of always reading the body language of his raptors and needing to break their bossy attitude whenever it surfaced, maybe it was the fact that he’d always had the same woman around him for years, and he was excited about some other oestrogen in his life.

 

Speaking of which.

 

The sight of Sarah’s jeep parked near their bungalow shook him out of his thoughts, and he actually felt a little embarrassed not to have thought about her once, while he was working today. He mentally punched himself, _get your shit together, Grady_ , hopped off his bike and went inside.

 

“You’re late” Sarah noted, before giving him a quick kiss and making her way from the kitchen to the dining table. “Dinner’s ready”.

 

“Yeah sorry. Busy day today” he replied, looking rather excited to share the details with her.

 

“I figured. How did it go?” She asked, genuinely interested. Their future depended on that, after all.

 

“Great. Better than any other training session I ever had before. It’s like… It’s like the girls knew they were… Under exam or something!” He stated enthusiastically “And you never told me your boss was a woman?” He added.

 

“Ummm I never thought it made a difference?” Sarah replied, slightly indignant “I don’t see her often anyways, she only comes to check on us when needed and sometimes I go to her office to report stuff. She’s a real bitch though” she chuckled, sipping some beer.

 

Owen felt kind of taken aback, the image of Claire’s soft eyes on him still clear in his head, but he was also intrigued, so he briefly smirked back at his fiancée before diving back into his steak and casually asked: “Why? She seemed serious today but very interested in her work”.

 

Sarah snorted a little: “Please. She was probably thrilled about your raptors bringing her even more money. She’s a frigid workaholic. She never cared about dinosaurs.” She explained, gesturing with her fork. “Do you want some more steak?” She smoothly changed the subject, as the thought of her boss was beginning to slightly anger her. Her words, though, only made Owen more fascinated with Claire. She really was a puzzle to him, but his hunger subsided and he gladly accepted the food, engaging into a lighter conversation with his fiancée.

 

After they cleared the table and washed the dishes, Sarah wrapped her arms around Owen’s neck and sighed. “I had a tiring day today” she started, “We introduced a new triceratops to the herd but she had a hard time being accepted by the others, we had to physically stop them from being hurt, and-“ Owen stopped her ramble with a kiss, to which she gladly responded. When they parted, he tugged at the hem of her tank top;

 

“Hey, how about you end the day in a much better way?” He suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

 

Sarah giggled, “Mmm, sounds like a perfect idea”.

 

She gave into him, and they kissed their way to the bedroom. They laid down on top of the covers, and he was about to pull her top off, when her phone rang.

 

“Goddamnit!” Owen growled, keeping on planting kisses on her neck, “Just let it ring”, he mumbled. But Sarah objected: “It could be important, Owen. Let me just answer real quick” she pecked him on the lips as a silent ‘thank you’ for letting her go, and she picked up her phone, reading her colleague’s name on the screen.

 

“Hello? Lauren? Is everything alright?” Owen sat on the bed listening to the conversation. “Oh God.” Sarah gasped. “I’ll be right there”. She hung up, rushing to get her shoes on.

 

“What’s wrong?” Owen inquired.

 

“The new triceratops. We thought it went well, turns out the herd didn’t actually fully accept her, and they hurt her. I need to go. Sorry!” Sarah explained, worried.

 

“It’s okay babe” Owen understood. He’d do the same for his raptors. “Let me know how it goes”.

 

“Bye!!” She shouted, before slamming the door and rushing down the stairs of the porch. Owen sighed and laid back down on the bed, sleep getting to him pretty quickly after the events of the day.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Claire was on her couch, filling papers with details from the afternoon at the raptor enclosure, a task that she usually hated with all her heart, but she found out she didn’t mind recalling the events of today. Her mind kept drifting to one certain raptor trainer at times, but she tried to stay focused. Failing miserably. She couldn’t suppress a smile as she thought of the gentle looks he gave her whenever a raptor obediently listened to him, as if to say ‘look, it’s perfectly fine’; nobody had ever looked at her so sweetly. Plus the way his muscles flexed as he moved…God, she couldn’t keep her stern look around him. She mentally scolded herself for the hundredth time that evening, _for God’s sake, you’re not fourteen anymore, Claire_.

She finished her report quickly, thinking of getting a warm shower and going to bed, maybe falling asleep with some not-so-pure thoughts in her mind, when her phone went off. She let out a soft curse before answering Zara. “What’s the matter?” She sighed.

 

“Claire I’m sorry, but you’re needed at the triceratops enclosure. There’s been an accident, the new asset is down, vets and responsible personnel are on their way” Zara quickly explained.

 

“Ugh, alright. Thank you Zara” She said, before hanging up and exhaustingly starting to get some decent clothes on.

 

Once she reached her destination, Claire was clearly the last to arrive. Several people were already taking care of the issue, when she walked up to them to demand some explanation.

 

“Bonnie was hurt because the older members of the herd apparently didn’t accept her” came an unknown voice from behind her.

 

Claire turned around to see an annoyed brunette girl, hands on her hips, clad in shorts, tank top and low-top combat boots, not to mention covered in dirt. Claire just raised her eyebrows at her.

 

“Umm… sorry, who are you again?” She tried to sound polite;

 

“Sarah Phillips. Responsible supervisor of the herds of herbivores on the island.” Sarah replied, stern look on her face.

 

“Right” Claire said, “So what are you going to do about it?” She added, gesturing casually to the other people present there.

 

Sarah lost it. “What are _WE_ gonna do about it? YOU pushed us to add another dinosaur to this herd, not giving a SHIT about the fact that there were already too many. You wanted more triceratops because, and I quote, ‘the old, lazy ones won’t entertain anybody anymore’. I’m fucking tired of you caring only about profit and not about the wellbeing of these animals!!” Her nostrils flaring, she added “The only thing we can do is cure her and try again, or she’ll either end up dead by the wounds caused by the others or put to sleep because it’s a lost case! Thank you very much, Operations Manager!” she spat, half-mocking her title.

 

All the other people present there looked shocked and just about ready to flee at the thought of an angered boss.

 

Claire was taken aback. “Excuse me? First, watch your language, _Phillips._ I’m still your boss. Secondly…” She started, but Sarah was already gone to help the others, telling them to keep working. Claire was actually glad she did, because she didn’t really have a full list of ways to come back at her. She sighed and slumped her shoulders, rubbing her temples. _What is wrong with me? She’s right. I’m such an idiot._

 

The evening proceeded and Claire just stood there, noting all her employees’ moves on her iPad, but not actually doing anything. She tried to avoid Sarah, but her words had stung. She was indeed right, after all. Wellbeing of the park came from the wellbeing of the animals, and she couldn’t allow another misstep like this.

 

After they called it a night, Sarah drove back to the bungalow and got in, slamming the door behind her. Owen was startled from his sleep and, after letting out a series of curses, he lazily asked: “What the fuck? What is wrong?”

 

Sarah started pacing around the house, then throwing her clothes in the laundry basket and prepping for a (hopefully) soothing shower. “Claire fucking Dearing is just SO IMMENSELY FRUSTRATING!” She started, “THIS WAS ALL HER DAMN FAULT! What was she thinking? Making us add another animal to the herd just because stupid people weren’t happy enough with it as it was?? Like they have a fucking clue about dinosaurs!!”

 

Owen knew it was better to just let her rant, then, once she was ready for bed and tucked in beside him, he rubbed her right arm.

 

“I’m sorry. Why don’t you just sleep on it? I’m sure it will be alright, don’t worry”. He tried his best to comfort her, not really knowing what else to say.

 

She sobbed; “Owen, I’m so tired of this. I love dinosaurs and I don’t want them to suffer. And now I don’t even know if I’ll work here anymore because I just lost it when that BITCH-” she started, but Owen raised his eyebrows.

 

“What do you mean you don’t know if you’ll work here anymore?” He questioned, but with a calm tone.

 

Sarah let out a sigh. “When Claire arrived to check on the situation, I got angry and started yelling at her. Badly. Kind of insulting her…” She admitted, looking down at her fiddling hands.

 

Owen was surprised to say the least, but she continued: “I was just so mad, Owen! I’m gonna get sacked, I know I will, then the press is surely gonna come tomorrow-” She cried, Owen still trying to soothe her.

 

“You won’t. She probably understood your mood. I bet she didn’t have a good comeback for it… Except reminding you of her position, maybe” he chuckled.

 

Sarah was slightly surprised. “Well that’s actually… that’s what she did… well before I decided not to listen to her babble and walked away” she added, sheepishly.

 

Owen, though, was very pleased with himself. _That Claire is not so hard to read, after all_ , he mused in his head. There was a brief quiet moment before Sarah’s phone let out a short notification sound, an e-mail. Who could it be from, at almost two in the morning? She looked at it, it was from the park management.

 

She started to panic. “Oh god, Owen, I am fired. They’re firing me.”

 

“Shhh” he stopped her ramble, “Do you want me to read it?” He offered.

 

“No” She quickly replied, “I’m going to read it out loud”.

 

 

 

 

_Dear Miss Phillips,_

 

_After the events of tonight, I must admit that your words, albeit quite harsh, have been lingering in my mind. You were right about the wellbeing of these animals having to come first, and I will assure you an incident like today’s will not happen again. I could see how much you care about your job and about the dinosaurs. Next time, I would like to speak with you first, regarding further decisions about the herds of herbivores. I therefore wanted to offer my sincere apologies to you and your colleagues for what happened and I hope you will be willing to speak with me anytime a concern with the herds emerges, as I will do my best to help you and ensure the wellbeing of our wonderful animals._

 

_Yours sincerely,_

_Claire Dearing, Operations Manager of Jurassic World_

 

After finishing reading the email, Sarah stared at her phone, then at Owen, who was awestruck at how much vulnerability and guilt Claire had shown in that e-mail.

 

Then she snorted. “Bitch. She would do anything to keep her reputation and ensure the park stays clean of incidents. Well, at least I did one right thing, though” she mused. “And! I still have my job”.

 

Apparently, though, that e-mail wasn’t the only one Claire sent, because minutes later, Owen’s phone pinged with the same notification. He picked it up, but read it silently, as Sarah went back to her phone to text her colleagues about it.

 

_Dear Mr Grady,_

 

_I wanted to inform you that, after watching your interaction with the velociraptors today, I personally thought it would be useful to further talk about the project with you tomorrow at lunch, if that suits well with your schedule. I would like to talk to you as their trainer, regarding your future work plans, and also about everything that comes with you becoming my employee. I apologize for the time at which I am informing you of this, but I sincerely hope you will manage to meet me tomorrow at 12:45PM outside the Innovation Center._

 

_Yours sincerely,_

_Claire Dearing, Operations Manager of Jurassic World_

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Claire had hit ‘send’ with a thumping heart by the time she wrote Owen’s e-mail, afraid that she might have let out a little too much enthusiasm about meeting with him, as it wasn’t really _that_ important, she just wanted to know him better.

 

 _What did I just do? What am I doing??_ But she was too tired to care. So she changed, showered and went to bed, the thoughts of Owen Grady filling her mind as she laid in the dark, thoughts she was too weak to push away at the moment. She was falling. She was falling _hard_. And they had only met for about three hours.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“What does yours say?” Sarah asked, and Owen passed her his phone without answering, his mind currently swirling. Claire Dearing. Lunch with Claire Dearing. Getting to know that mysterious and fascinating creature, the young red haired, doe eyed woman that managed one of the biggest companies in the world.

 

Sarah complimented his achievement, excited about a possible good salary to come and overjoyed about their upcoming wedding- not without adding some bitter remark about Claire, obviously- but it all came muffled to Owen’s ears, as his mind was elsewhere. He then typed a quick affirmative reply and stared at the ceiling for a while before falling asleep, for his mind was still filling with thoughts of what could possibly happen the next day. He was going to be face to face with Claire. And he couldn’t wait.


	3. I Am Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3! I'll try to update every day, or every two days. Enjoy! And I hope y'all hate Sarah because that's my goal when writing her character, honestly lmao

_My fingers are clenched, my stomach in knots  
My heart it is racing, but afraid I am not_

 

* * *

 

 

“Alright Barry, I gotta go, see you later!” Owen announced, his stomach both growling in hunger and twitching at the thought of having lunch with Claire. He hurried out of the paddock, hopped on his bike and headed off to the Jurassic World Village, the beating heart of Isla Nublar.

 

He got to the Innovation Center five minutes earlier than the scheduled time, so he took his time to hop off the motorcycle, smooth out and try to clean his work clothes the best he could, with his bare hands. He nervously patted his pant pockets to check if he had his phone and wallet: he did. _Damn Grady, it’s just a work lunch._ Yeah. A work lunch with the boss of Jurassic Frickin’ World, who also happened to be a very intriguing woman.

 

A door opening pulled him out of his overthinking session, and that’s when he saw her. _Fucksake Grady get a grip, you’re engaged!_ But he couldn’t help his jaw dropping slightly as he stared at her figure approaching him, completely awestruck.

 

Her impeccable fiery hair was being blown slightly to the side by the soft breeze that was very welcome on such a hot day, her sea green eyes sparkling in the sunlight; the top of her simple, summery white dress hugging her every curve and the bottom blossoming into a loose skirt to let her thighs breathe and her nude heels making her bare legs go for miles. She stopped in front of him and he gladly smelled her vanilla scent.

 

“Hello, Mr Grady. I’m glad you could make it, and uh… sorry again for telling you about this that late at night” she said, a slight hint of a blush creeping up her cheeks at her last words. _Was she…nervous??_

 

“Please, it’s Owen. And it’s alright. I’m looking forward to this lunch, Miss Dearing” Owen replied, maybe a bit too energetically.

 

“It’s Claire” she told him rather shyly, then she giggled: “I’m looking forward to it too. Also, I am starving!”

 

Owen chuckled, “We better hurry, then”.

 

They walked towards the local steakhouse, an informal but not low-level place either, perfect for a non-official work meet up. Owen smirked all the way to their destination, realizing Claire couldn’t keep a straight, bossy attitude with him. He could sense her nervousness from miles away. It was kinda his job though, wasn’t it?

 

Claire was indeed nervous. She had spent hours choosing the perfect outfit for lunch that morning, wanting to look good for Owen. _Seriously, Claire? What are you getting yourself into? You haven't even really talked to him yet!_ She couldn’t fight the feeling in the pit of her stomach, though. It was a good feeling for once in her life, and she was happy to welcome it, albeit unsure of how it would end up. She had never felt this vulnerable around anyone in her entire life, let alone a future employee. But as she walked beside Owen, she felt… _sheltered_. He was a good deal taller than her, and god, those muscles. She would have given anything to know how it felt to rest on that chest of his, to be embraced by those arms. He was a tree. A very handsome tree.

 

She snapped back to reality once they entered the restaurant, the waiter immediately recognizing her and hurrying to lead them to their table. As they sat, they looked into each other’s eyes, neither of them quite sure of how to start the conversation, but strangely enough, they didn’t feel the need to speak: they comfortably stared at one another as if they were already talking with their eyes, which was weird for the first time they were actually face to face, but apparently, not for them.

 

Their silent conversation was interrupted by the waiter quickly setting their table, at which Claire let out a small ‘thank you’ to the young boy before looking back at Owen.

 

“So” she started, “What I saw yesterday… Was pretty amazing” she continued, letting out a small laugh with last word and toying with the rim of her glass, “I’ve been here for years and I had never seen anyone bonding with a carnivore. Let alone training a group of four” she looked back at him and Owen smiled;

 

“I know right? I have trained dolphins and sea lions for the Navy, but nothing compares to my girls.” He said with a smile.

 

At that point Claire was genuinely interested. “Please, Owen, tell me more” she asked, completely in awe with the man.

 

Halfway through their meal, after Owen and Claire had shared their background stories and reinforced the already strong chemistry that had settled between them since the beginning, Owen felt the need to add: “My fiancée told me about your little… encounter last night”; at these words, Claire almost stopped breathing, her giddy bubble bursting completely. _He is engaged. And to that girl._ She gulped.

 

“Miss Phillips is your…” she almost struggled to say it, “…fiancée?” She managed a fake smile.

 

“Yep” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head and looking down, as if he was sorry for ruining their almost flirty haze. “Been together for almost five years. Planning on sticking together once I have answers on all…this” he added, vaguely gesturing at their table, as if to indicate the main topic of their conversation.

 

At that, Claire had the despicable thought of not giving him answers just to postpone him tying the knot with Sarah, but she quickly realized how stupid it sounded and she rid herself of that thought.

 

“So” Owen continued, gaining her attention once more, “She told me about last night. And I wanted to apologize for her” now Claire was surprised. “Sarah can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, especially if you touch her dinosaurs. I bet she said mean things to you, and I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that. I can understand your job is pretty hard as it is.” He said softly, and she loved to hear the words coming from him.

 

“No, she was right though.” She admitted, “I should open my eyes on the dinosaurs’ wellbeing and put it before the park’s income. They are the key for it, after all” She managed a shy smile, looking at him. She was a bit startled then, as he was already staring at her, right into her soul. Nah, it couldn’t be. He was engaged, for fuck’s sake. So she tried to regain her composure and changed the subject: “Yeah well… I’ll make sure I don’t make the same mistake with your raptors. They are already very special to me, and I’m not saying it just because they’ll benefit the economy of the park, but because what I saw, the bond you created… It’s something extraordinary. I’ll treasure it forever. And I plan on giving you the best spot on the island for your shows” she added with a smile, which he kindly returned.

 

“Thank you, Claire. That means a lot.” Owen managed to let out, overwhelmed by her kindness.

 

After they were done with lunch, they both reluctantly got up and made their way towards the exit. Then they walked rather silently among the tourists on Main Street, employees watching Claire sternly. Eventually, they reached his bike.

 

“You really didn’t have to pay for us both, Owen” Claire protested, “I was the one that proposed the lunch, and-” Owen raised a hand to stop her.

 

“I don’t wanna hear it. Take it as my… apology, on behalf of my girlf- ehm, fiancée” he replied, slightly mocking the French word.

 

“Seriously though, you really shouldn’t have” Claire underlined, then she looked at her watch. “Ugh, I must get back to work. I’ll see you around, I guess?” She paused, “But I will definitely send you an email as soon as I know more details”. She added with a smile, and Owen spoke:

 

“How about we exchange our phone numbers? If that’s alright?” He proposed, “So I can update you on the girls, if you want”.

 

Claire beamed, “Yes! That would be wonderful” She replied, maybe a little too eagerly.

 

“Perfect. And maybe… We can schedule another lunch to talk about them, when you want” Owen tried to add casually.

 

Claire looked at him softly and sighed, “Oh, I would love to. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m free.”

 

They exchanged numbers and she checked her watch again, then added sweetly: “Now I must really go. Press is here wanting to interview me about yesterday’s accident. It was very nice talking to you, Owen.”

 

His stomach backflipped. She was angelic. How could employees view her as such a cold hearted bitch?

 

“Oh shit. Good luck then” He managed to reply with a chuckle. “It was very nice indeed, Claire” her name rolled off his tongue so smoothly that her knees almost gave up, not to mention when he mocked a very gracious courtesy to her.

 

Claire walked back to her office, slightly disappointed at his relationship status but very happy that he was clearly enjoying her company nonetheless.

 

Owen started his bike, feeling the curious eyes of Jurassic World employees on him. He didn’t usually wander around Main Street, and most certainly not for lunch with Claire Dearing. He chuckled internally and drove off, only then realizing that the press would want to speak with Sarah too, which meant he would have to deal with another temper tantrum of hers. He grunted and drove faster, focusing his mind on his raptors, now with a very precise member of the audience to satisfy.

 

* * *

 

Claire couldn’t really focus on her work later that day. The press had been a nightmare, questioning her every move as Operations Manager, and especially Sarah hadn’t really helped her. She kept agreeing with the journalists on Claire’s lack of interest toward the animals, which wasn’t totally wrong, but being her employee and working at Jurassic World, she should have at least tried to cover her somehow, for the sake of the park - and therefore her own job. Also because Claire had clearly tried to extend an olive branch to her. She couldn’t stand the girl. Even more, now that she knew she was stealing her Owen. 

 

 _Your Owen?? Stealing?? When they’re engaged and you just met him??_ No. It wasn’t about romantic jealousy now. More like, how could Owen stand someone like her, the total opposite of Claire, when he and Claire had instantly clicked? Plus, god knows what else he usually had to endure from her. She didn’t wanna think about it.

 

Zara peeped into her office, coming further in when Claire gave her permission.

 

“What is it now?” The boss groaned, “It’s almost eight o’clock. I would like to go home as soon as possible.”

 

Zara looked at her with sympathy, then opened her mouth: “It’s nothing.” She paused, weighing her next words. “I am just… I am worried about you, Claire. You can’t really seem to concentrate these days. Is there something wrong?” Zara asked, concerned. She wasn’t just Claire’s assistant, not her best friend either, but a good one and a confidant, the only person she could count on for personal advice, being an extremely busy person.

 

Claire looked at her, a tired look on her face. Zara knew her now too well for her to lie. She was the person she spent most time around, after all.

 

“Zara, I think… I think I might be having a bit of a crush. DON’T LAUGH.” She warned.

 

Her assistant looked quite surprised, but just smiled. “Aww Claire, it happens. You’re human. And work will not be at the center of your life forever…will it?” She questioned, concerned.

 

Claire just managed to look down, taking in her words. “I know. It’s just… It’s wrong.”

 

Zara couldn’t help the snort that came out of her. “Wrong? It’s natural. And… may I ask who the lucky guy is?”

 

“I don’t mean wrong as in wrong to feel like this” Claire explained, “It’s wrong because the ‘lucky guy’” she air quoted, “is…. Owen Grady. The-”

 

“Raptor trainer?” Zara widened her eyes. “I didn’t know he would be your type” she observed.

 

“Well neither did I” Claire snapped back.

 

One second later realization dawned on Zara.“Ooh… he’s engaged to that brat that hates you, right?”

 

Claire cringed at her words. “Yes. But… how do you know?”

 

Zara stepped further into her office, sitting in one of the two chairs in front of her boss’ desk, as she explained softly: “Claire, as your assistant, I need to pretty much know everything that goes on on this island. And, I don’t mind some good gossip when I get the chance. Could always come in handy” She winked. “But honestly, I can’t see how they manage to stay together. They both love dinosaurs, yes, but… they don’t seem compatible AT ALL.” There was a small pause “But Claire. Don’t let it get to you. I’m sorry you find yourself in this situation. I know you basically never felt this way ever since I’ve known you, so this must mean he really got under your skin. But if you want my honest opinion, choose what makes you feel good. My nana always said, ‘what comes easy, won’t last. What lasts, won’t come easy’ and Claire, I know the true you. You deserve happiness.” Zara said, reaching over to squeeze her hand, before her desk phone started ringing in the hallway, making her get up and go answer it.

 

Claire stared blankly ahead for a good three minutes, processing Zara’s words. Neither of them expected the dark haired brit to come up with such an inspirational speech, but she had to admit she was right after all. Go after what makes you happy. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be. And that night- that night was the first time in Claire’s career when she decided to _screw it all_ and follow her heart. She pulled out her phone and started texting.

 

* * *

 

Owen was eating his dinner, or at least trying to, as he couldn’t even hear himself chewing with Sarah’s loud voice on the opposite side of the table. She had been going on for minutes about how anxious the press had made her feel, how Claire could only speak incomprehensible business words and how much she wanted to strip her of her title and make her work around the animals.

 

“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating a bit? She was trying to do her job and protect the park, after all. So, you too.” Owen dared to observe. Wrong move.

 

“What are you, on her side now??? Didn’t you realize that also when she told you about the raptors at lunch- WHY CAN’T YOU OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE SHE’S ONLY A FUCKING CAREER DRIVEN BITCH THAT ONLY CARES ABOUT PROFIT???” Sarah exploded.

 

“Don’t talk about her like that!” Owen snapped, thinking about the sweet Claire he had met at lunch. “You don’t even know what she does for the park. It’s not just about handling dinosaurs all the time!”

 

“Oh and you do??” She fired back, and if looks could kill, he would be starting to decompose by now.

 

“Well I certainly had more time to talk to her about what she does! So as a matter of fact I do, Sarah!”

 

“Oh please, go fuck yourself, will you?” Her raging mode was on, and Owen couldn’t take it. She stormed off to the bathroom to get ready for bed and he was about to smash something into the wall, when his phone lit up on the table with a text:

 

_Hi Owen. I know it’s late (again!) but I was about to head for a walk along the south eastern beach, and I wouldn’t mind some company… maybe you could teach me a bit more about raptors, if that doesn’t bother you…?_

 

_PS I won’t make it too long don’t worry, I have work tomorrow, too_

 

_-Claire_

 

His smile reached his ears when he read it. He shouted a quick “I’m off to clear my head” at Sarah but didn’t bother to check if she had heard him. He haphazardly put on his running shoes and headed off to his bike, his mind already focused on a certain redhead.


	4. Beam Me Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh here is chapter four! Don't let yourself be fooled though. It may be fluffy but there's more annoying stuff to come. The focus of my story, though, is not the journey of getting Claire and Owen together, but what happens after a certain thing that will come a bit later on! Keep reading, all comments and kudos are appreciated! I might post another chapter tonight!

_Beam me up,_  
_Let me be lighter, I'm tired of being a fighter, I think_  
 _A minute's enough,  
Just beam me up..._

 

* * *

 

 

By the time Owen reached the beach, Claire was already there waiting for him. She had her back to him and was watching the horizon, the moonlight shining on the ocean waves, and a few artificial lights illuminating the beach and the rest of the human-accessible part of the island. Her hair was a little messy from the sea breeze constantly blowing it aside, but it also cooled down the temperature, in fact she was wearing a light hoodie over her tank top, although her legs were almost totally bare, running shorts covering the top of her thighs.

 

Owen took in the sight of her, totally informal; she looked like a common girl going for a thought-clearing run on a school night, her flawless, smooth white skin enhanced by the pale sources of light around her. She probably hadn’t heard him arriving on his bike, being very close to the loud sounds of the waves, so as he hopped off and started to approach her, he cleared his throat and she turned around.

 

The moonlight was doing something amazing to her already doll-like face features, and at that very moment, he realized he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. She was truly breathtaking.

 

As he stopped in his tracks to admire her, she blushed (thankfully the darkness didn’t show it this time) at his awe, and he soon realized he must have been staring so he did his best to form words.

 

“I- I’m glad you invited me here. It’s… beautiful” he breathed out. _You’re beautiful_. “And I really need a break to clean my head, too” he managed to build a sentence, ending it with a warm smile, which made her all fuzzy on the inside.

 

“Well,” started Claire, “You’re welcome.” _Really? Is this all you’re gonna say?_ “I- ah…. I really had a good time at lunch today, and…” Owen walking closer to her totally didn’t help her situation, “And I thought… yeah, I thought having a relaxing walk together would really help me get away from all the work stress”. She uttered, trying to hide her nervousness. She couldn’t stop fidgeting with her hands and constantly putting stray strands of hair, victims of the breeze, behind her ears.

 

Owen, obviously, noticed. He thought it was extremely cute. He almost forgot he was talking with the manager of the whole island. Nah. In that moment, Operations Manager Claire Dearing was gone. Her stoic mask had shattered completely for the first time in years. She was Claire. Lovestruck Claire. Nervous, vulnerable Claire. And he couldn’t stop his adoration for her.

 

“Shall we start our walk then?” He asked with a smile.

 

“Oh yes, of course” She snapped out of her daze, and they headed south, towards more light and away from the darker part of the island. They felt like the only people on the planet at that moment, the ocean and the crickets being the only sounds reminding them of a world besides their own.

 

They talked about everything, from his raptors and the tricks he used to get them to listen, to her sister and her lack of success in keeping in touch with her family.

 

“My job is currently my life” she explained, “I am an ambitious person, and I couldn’t be happier to get where I am now, but it’s gnawing at me. There is so much work. Very little of it having to do with the dinosaurs themselves, really. I love these animals and I want what’s best for them, but the focus of my job is to make sure the park is safe and working, that visitors come here and to keep track of everything that’s countable, basically. It’s one of the hardest jobs in the world, and there’s much more to it than just money and a title. I can barely have time for myself!” She admitted, her voice slightly cracking. She just decided to go for it and let it all out then, Owen seeming like the perfect listener.

 

“I know I have a crazy lifestyle and people think I’m just a career driven bitch, I’m not oblivious to the voices going around. And it hurts, because I wanted this job because I care about these animals, and I wish I could view them as more than assets. That’s what people don’t see, but it’s better to keep my chin up than being vulnerable. That’s a golden rule to keep being in a position like mine. Although I really wish they understood” She continued.

 

“I do understand.” Owen replied calmly, “I can see it very well. And all the people who underestimate your humanity, Sarah included, are just ignorants.” The obnoxious fight with his fiancée replaying in his mind.

 

“She kept telling me how she wished you were in her shoes, but I’d say, what if _she_ were in yours. I bet she couldn’t last one minute with that crazy schedule of yours” he chuckled, and she smiled. “Your job is so very important to all of us. And you are amazing at it, Claire. Believe me.” He assured.

 

She stopped and turned to him, her eyes slightly watering. It was the first time someone had ever said something like that to her, understanding the difficulty of her job. “You really think so, Owen?” She uttered, almost whispering.

 

“I know so.” Owen stated quietly, but firmly. They stared at each other’s eyes and he continued, “You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met, and I can tell it even if we’ve known each other for just a couple of days. You can do anything, Claire. You’re strong and independent but also sweet and caring, I could see that from the very first moment. And I just wanted you to know that I’ll always be there for you, if you need to talk, or anything else. I just know I’d do anything for ya, Claire.”

 

She was left speechless. Mouth slightly agape, tears in her eyes, lump in her throat and butterflies in her stomach making her really unable to form words right then. But Owen took one step closer to her, one hand reaching up to put a strand of bright and beautiful red hair behind her ear, grazing her cheek while he did so.

 

“Not to mention you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my whole life” he whispered. That’s right, he really just couldn’t hold it in. Claire had cast a goddamn powerful spell on him. His eyes travelled to her lips for a second, and so did hers.

 

Before she could reply, Owen just couldn’t hold himself back anymore. His lips crashed on hers, the hand on her face bringing her closer and his other one resting on her back and doing the same. He didn’t know why he was doing it. He was just following his heart. _Screw logic, for once in a while, goddamnit!_

 

Claire closed her eyes, a small tear escaping her right one, as she gave into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, bringing his head closer, and mentally thanking him for keeping her there, or her knees would have surely buckled under her.

 

Their lips moved against one another of a bit, tongues being added sweetly to the mix, before reality came crashing down on her and she pulled back, slightly panting.

 

“God, this is wrong, Owen. What are we d-” but he quickly silenced her with another brief kiss, before replying huskily against her lips:

 

“I don’t care. Let’s not think about it.” And with that he kissed her again and lifted her up, bringing his hands under her backside as she wrapped her legs around his hips, feeling his arousal. They engaged in a passionate makeout session, right on the south eastern beach of Isla Nublar. And it was the most blissful moment either of them had ever experienced since stepping on the island.

 

* * *

 

 

A week went by quickly; Claire and Owen had barely seen each other since their last, very steamy, encounter, as it was the busiest period for Jurassic World, and he also needed to prepare at his best for the opening of the Raptor Training Show, for which the location was already being prepped.

 

He had obviously never spoken a word to Sarah about his little late night love escape with her boss, and until her rage towards Claire and the triceratops incident disappeared, he was _totally_ planning of steering away from the subject. She was still bitter to him for defending Claire and her job, although he would never change his mind about it.

 

On the other hand, Claire was almost always around checking on park attractions and enclosures, at the Control Center or in her office, as the island was literally at its fullest, with visitors from all over the world, not to mention VIPs and journalists. She was going mad. Thankfully, the week was ending and things calmed down a little bit. She had a hole in her afternoon schedule on Saturday, and she was dying to see Owen again.

 

Her heart was pounding. She hopped into her car and made her way to the raptor paddock, vision almost blurry with want. She _needed_ to see him, to hear his voice, to touch him and kiss him. He really was what had kept her going during that crazy week and held her back from having a nervous breakdown. They couldn’t really exchange texts, or at least, she wasn’t planning on texting him first, as him living with another woman meant she could see his screen light up if she was near it in the house. Claire preferred not to risk it, also given the utter contempt Sarah felt for her.

 

Once she arrived at the raptor paddock, she almost didn’t turn off the engine and sprinted out of the car, no problem getting though the two security men that guarded the entrance. She saw Barry, but no trace of Owen.

 

“Have you seen Owen?” She asked, a bit out of breath, to the French man. “I, umm, I need to speak with him.” She tried to sound as professional as possible.

 

“Nope, sorry Miss Dearing. Today is his day off, so he’s probably at home or around with Sarah. I can call him if it’s urgent, though” he offered with a slight smile.

 

Claire was a bit- okay, more than a bit- disappointed. “Oh no.. no need to call him. Thanks anyways.” And with that, she spun on her heels and headed back to her car, slamming the door and taking a few deep breaths once she settled in her seat.

 

The thought of him spending his day with Sarah angered her. Although, thinking about what he said and did to her the previous week, she couldn’t help the smile forming on her face. She remembered he had also complained about Sarah’s attitude and belittled her thoughts. _Ha_.

 

Claire then quickly got her iPad from the passenger seat and went through her employees’ shift calendar. She immediately tapped “P” on the sidebar. Phillips. There she was. Her finger ran along from her name to the “Saturday” column and she was instantly pleased with what she saw. Start of shift: 9AM. Checked in: 8:58AM. End of shift: 7PM. She looked at the time, 4:16PM, and she beamed. She did a u-turn and tried to remember the route to Owen’s bungalow from the paddock.

 

* * *

 

Owen was indeed enjoying his day off trying to catch some fish in the lake near his home. His mind was so light, his heart so full with the memories of Claire from the week before, he felt like he was in heaven. He hadn’t quite managed to contact her after that day, though, Sarah’s bloodsucker-like presence and not wanting to bother Claire on such busy days kinda kept him from reaching out to her. He wasn’t particularly bothered by it, anyways, he could clearly sense things between them were fine. He just wanted so badly to see where all of _that_ went. He knew he was engaged to another woman but that was the last of his problem at that moment.

 

A car engine approaching and stopping behind him snapped him back from his lovesick haze. The mere thought of Sarah having ended her shift early because of some uncontainable rage spree of hers made him sick. He really didn’t feel like confronting her bratty attitude.

 

His dread ceased when he clearly heard the noise of gracious high heels on the flat gravel instead of combat boots. His heart took a leap and he swiftly turned around, half hoping he wouldn’t be disappointed. But _who else could it be_ , anyways.

 

“Hey, there” Owen greeted Claire, trying to hide his exaggerated bubbling excitement, eyes squinting at the sunlight.

 

Claire smiled a toothy grin in return. “Are you enjoying your day off?” She chose to start the conversation lightly, while approaching him.

 

He got up, fishing pole lying forgotten on the ground- he couldn’t give a fuck even if it fell into the water, anyway- and he made his was towards her.

 

“Oh, I am enjoying it much more now that you’re here” He beamed, and she giggled. _God, that heavenly sound._

 

“Well, you’re lucky I’m not here for work” she replied. That actually pleasantly surprised. “I had some free time today and I just thought I could spend it with you… If you don’t mind” She looked up at him, now very close. “I missed you.” She confessed with a sigh.

 

Owen couldn’t do much, then, apart from grabbing her face with both his large hands and shoving his tongue in her throat, which she gladly accepted and reciprocated. No words were needed for them, as they basked into the moment, alone in the forest of Isla Nublar, before Owen swiftly picked her up and brought her inside, determined to show her all his love and desire.

 


	5. You Get My Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's another chapter, because I don't know if I will be able to update tomorrow... Enjoy!

_My thoughtless decisions, turned into thoughtful tears_   
_What have I done? For the first time_   
_I blame myself_

 

* * *

 

 

“Have you ever had your hair reach past your shoulders?” Owen murmured, while playing with Claire’s red locks as they laid naked on his couch, basking in their afterglow.

 

Claire let out a small laugh. “Of course I have” she smiled, “I had long hair all my life, until I became Operations Manager here. I was so engrossed in my new role, and surrounded by such demanding and professional people, that I started to view my hairstyle as too childish and carefree at some point. I thought giving it a sharp cut would make me look more serious and credible in my field of work” she paused, adjusting her head on Owen’s chest. “I’m actually beginning to regret it now” she gave a lopsided smile, “I loved my long hair so much.” She half-mumbled, voice muffled by his skin.

 

“Well, as much as a turn-on it is for me to see you look this sharp” he started with a smirk, “I can’t even imagine how gorgeous you’d look with your hair long and flowing”. He said, pressing a kiss to her head and rubbing her back.

 

“Well” she grinned, then reluctantly let go of her comfy position half on top of Owen as she reached for her phone on the coffee table, “If you want an idea…” She continued, scrolling through her camera roll, then reaching the picture she was looking for: “This is how it looked. My sister sent this to me the other day, to remind me of the same thing. She misses my hair too.” She said, handing him her phone.

 

It was a picture of Claire and Karen hugging, from the day Claire moved out to college, in front of their parents’ house. She had little makeup on, showing all her beautiful freckles, and wavy, copper colored hair, reaching just above her backside.

 

Owen looked at the picture in silence, mouth slightly open and the ghost of a smile on it, completely in awe for a solid minute.

 

“You’re a goddess, Claire. I swear I have never seen so much beauty in one single person.” He then breathed out.

 

Claire snatched her phone from him, rolling her eyes and blushing. “Shut up” she replied, giggling.

 

Owen, then, simply smiled, hugged her tight and started pressing kisses wherever he could reach, her hair, her temples, her cheeks, her jaw. He was a total goner for that woman.

 

Claire couldn’t resist him, either, and reached up to respond to his ministrations, when his phone rang, startling them both.

 

Sarah’s name and face appeared on his screen, reminding them of the situation they were in. They both instantly felt a little guilty, especially Claire.

 

Owen reluctantly picked up, knowing his fiancée would have kept calling him every minute if he didn’t.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Owen, honey, where are you?” He slightly winced at the pet name. Claire did, too.

 

“Uhh…home. Why?”

 

“Great, I was just thinking I could finish a little earlier today since there’s nothing much to do anymore, I’ll just let Jim check out for me at seven, like, no one’s gonna know anyways” Sarah said with a small chuckle.

 

It was 5:45PM. Claire raised an eyebrow at Owen, who looked at her with a ‘well, I’m innocent in this’ look. Her employee was sneaking out of work one hour and fifteen minutes earlier than her schedule, her colleague Jim helping her cheat. _Oh, I’ll hold on to this information_.

 

“Sooo…” Owen said, Sarah finishing the sentence for him:

 

“Yes, I’ll be home in twenty!” She concluded, excitement in her voice. “Go get ready, we are gonna go out tonight!” And with that, she hung up.

 

Both Claire and Owen looked at each other, silently agreeing they had to get dressed as quickly as possible.

 

Once all evidence of their afternoon activities had been cleared up, Claire turned to him before leaving out the door.

 

“Owen, I… That call…” she started with a sigh, trying to find the words, “I like you, I really do. But what we are doing is so wrong. I feel horrible. For how little I like Sarah, she’s still your fiancée and she loves you. I can’t ruin what you have built in so many years.” She looked up at him with sadness in her eyes. “Please go have fun tonight with her. She deserves you. I don’t. And I don’t want to play this game, Owen, I- I’ve been cheated on before, and it’s not pretty. She doesn’t deserve this.” She finished, rubbing his right bicep with her left hand.

 

She then stood on her tiptoes to give him a final goodbye kiss on the cheek. “It was amazing while it lasted, though. You’re a wonderful man, Owen Grady.”

 

She then turned to leave, when Owen grabbed her by the elbow. “Wait, you mean you don’t wanna see me anymore?” Owen hopelessly asked. “Cause I do. I do, Claire, I like you so much. Please don’t leave.” He breathed out.

 

“Owen…”

 

“I know. I know I’m engaged, I’m fucking things up, but I wanna know where this leads us, Claire. I promise I will make up my mind, I won’t let you down. I need to know if we can work. Because if we can, I’m willing to-“

 

“DON’T say it” Claire pleaded. “I don’t want to ruin other people’s personal lives because I can’t have one of my own. I don’t want you to think it’s gonna be all nice and easy with me. I’m one of the busiest people on the planet, I can’t make a serious relationship work, I never did. I’m sorry Owen, I am- and you are- a better person than this. Please.” she cried, letting herself go and heading to her car.

 

She had tears in her eyes, but as much as she liked Owen- hell, maybe even started to… love him?- she couldn’t do this to herself or to other people. She knew deep down, it was the best decision.

 

Owen stood on his porch, not able to reply to Claire because after all, she was right. He would probably never have a regular life with her, unless she gave up her job, but who was he kidding? Her job was her life. She had worked hard to get were she was and she was amazing at it. He couldn’t take that away from her.

 

_What a selfish asshole I would be._

 

* * *

 

Back in her office, Claire couldn’t hold back the tears. She silently sobbed in her chair behind her desk, face in her hands. For once she had found someone who made her feel special and amazing. She was feeling things she had never felt before, not even with… Justin. She brushed the thought of her summer internship fling away, that time was far gone. It - he - wasn’t coming back.

 

Her phone then pinged with a text from Owen.

 

_Just… Promise me you’ll let your hair grow, alright? Take care xx_

 

She didn’t know how to reply, although she could sense he didn’t really expect her to, so she just smiled internally and left him on read.

 

Owen had the inexplicable power to turn her from Ice Queen into Puddle of Goo, and she almost let herself melt. But she couldn’t. Thinking about that afternoon, she felt both invincible and guilty. A classy queen and a thirsty whore. It felt so right but it was so wrong, and she convinced herself she had done the right thing, breaking whatever she had with Owen before it became too complicated.

Little did she know, it already had.

 

“Claire, sorry, Mr Masrani called-“ Zara entered her office in a rush, not bothering to knock, a habit she had started to pick up since Claire would always let her in, anyways.

 

This time, though, instead of seeing her boss bent on paperwork or looking at the 27inch screen of her iMac Pro, she saw her resting her elbows on the desk, hands supporting her forehead under her bangs and shoulders shaking with her quiet sobs.

 

“Oh goodness, what’s wrong?” Zara asked, forgetting the unimportant information she was carrying - about minor adjustments to the gift shops closing time on the weekends.

 

“It-it’s no-othing, really” Claire tried to recompose herself, but she couldn’t.

 

Zara rushed to her side, screwing the professional attitude, as she was in friend mode now. She didn’t care. Her boss was one hell of a determined and hard working woman and seeing her like that broke her heart.

 

She reached behind her desk, spun Claire’s chair around and crouched down in front of her, gently prying her hands from her face.

 

“Claire, you’re not okay. What has Owen done? And don’t give me crap. I know he’s your only weakness.” Zara said in one breath.

 

“It’s not- it’s not Owen. Well, no-not his fa-ault.” Claire tried to explain, sobs still wrecking her small but fierce body. She felt powerless. Like the only thing she wanted to do was to go home, but not at the resort, back in Madison, to cuddle up to her mother and sister and never let go.

 

“Care to explain?” Zara inquired.

 

“Well, we… we…” _made love._ “…Had sex. This afternoon. On- on his couch.” Claire confessed, grimacing in advance at her assistant’s reaction.

 

“YOU WHAT??!!” Zara almost fell backwards.

 

“Ssshhh! Zara! There are people outside!” Claire warned, before taking a deep breath. “And- I don’t know. It just happened. I mean, we kissed last week but that was a small moment on the beach and-“

 

“Woah woah woah. Claire!! You got him?? Got that whiny bitch out of the way??” Zara asked, incredulous and excited.

 

“No-well, you see, this is where I make my point. He didn’t break up with her. And after she called him while we were still…together, it dawned on me. I can’t do this to them. Or to myself. I can’t get involved” She explained. “But-“ She started to continue, though her words got choked up and she looked away for a moment, before taking yet another deep breath.

 

“It hurts. It hurts so much, Zara. I don’t want to lose him.” She admitted in a whisper, the tears making their way back into her eyes. “And I know it’s wrong, but I can’t stop it from hurting, and I don’t know what has gotten into me, I barely know him!” She barely made it to the end of the sentence before the sobs took over again, more violently this time.

 

“Oh, Claire…” Zara felt sympathetic, and tentatively reached out to hug her. Claire let herself be hugged, she really needed Zara’s support now. “I’m so sorry. But, you’ll see, if he really cares about you, he’ll make up his mind. Give him time.” She consoled her, before adding: “Someone like you isn’t that forgettable, trust me.” She then pulled back to look her in the eyes. “You did the right thing. It’s better not to get involved, and leave it up to him to make the decision, in a situation like this.”

 

Claire wiped at her tears and smudged mascara before replying: “Thank you Zara. You’re right. And I’m sorry you had to see me like this.”

 

“Oh, don’t you be sorry! I knew you weren’t stone cold Claire, no one is.”

 

There was a small pause before Zara dared to ask: “How about we go grab dinner someplace cozy right now? There’s nothing more to do for the day, and you could really clear your mind a bit. I see you need to talk.” She offered with a smile.

 

“Oh, I- That sounds great, Zara, thanks for the offer. I would really need that” Claire smiled back. “Just let me redo my makeup first” she added, with a sniff.

 

“Oh and Zara”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Please don’t tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE about this. Please.”

 

Zara smiled. “Of course I would never do that, Claire. Now, Let’s go get ready, shall we?”

 

* * *

 

Owen was driving to Main Street, trying to listen to what Sarah had to say about her day, but failing. Claire’s words were still lingering in his mind and he just couldn’t shake the sadness away. He hadn’t even had five minutes to himself before Sarah had come back from work that afternoon.

 

“Owen? Are you listening to me?” She asked.

 

“Huh? I mean.. I’m sorry. I’m just tired I guess. I’m sorry” He repeated.

 

“Aw, it’s okay babe.” Sarah gave his thigh a slight squeeze, “I know your days off spent fishing and sleeping are quite hard on you.” She finished, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

 

Owen didn’t have the strength to reply, so he just rolled his eyes. It took all his willpower not to brake and throw her out of the car. She was right, though. He should have been more supportive.

 

Once they reached Margaritaville, they took a booth by the window, ordered some drinks and fries and started chatting in a much more relaxed and lighter way, almost forgetting the tension that had surfaced in the car not even ten minutes before.

 

“So,” Sarah started, “Should we set a date for our wedding?”

 

Owen almost choked on his tequila; the thought of finally getting married to Sarah had always sounded foreign to him, much less in the past week.

 

“Uhh… Babe, we haven’t even figured out my job here, yet…” He tried to make up a plausible argument, “I mean, I know I’m going to get it but I still need to know all the details, timetables, salary… you know, the usual.” He managed to explain.

 

Sarah looked at him with fire in her eyes.

 

“Owen. If you don’t want to get married, just say it!” She started raising her voice in frustration, “I’m not asking you to plan the details! Just a possible date! You proposed to me more than a year ago, and I thought we were in this together.” She finished, on the brink of angry tears.

 

“Hey, hey, you don’t wanna cause a scene” Owen growled, noticing several people already looking at them.

 

“Well maybe I do!!” Sarah retorted, looking ready to fight whoever dared to complain about her behavior. She calmed down a bit, then, when Owen grabbed her hands across the table and made her focus on him, his steady breaths soothing her erratic ones.

 

“Listen.” He started, looking deeply in her eyes, also to try to convince himself of what he was about to say; “We _are_ gonna get married. I just want to be certain of what I am going to do here. Nothing is a hundred percent sure, and I don’t wanna start setting dates only to have them pushed back and making you angry. So, I think if we are a little more patient, everything will be sorted out and work out just fine.” He concluded with a small smile.

 

Sarah smiled back at him lovingly. “You’re right. God, you made me feel so much better. You always do, Owen.” And with that, she reached across the table to peck him on the lips. “I love you” She then added.

 

“I love you too” He replied automatically, making the mistake of looking outside the window because then, he spotted Claire entering the restaurant on the opposite side of the street along with another woman.

 

He took a deep breath and shook the thought of her skin on his from his mind.


	6. Is This Thing On?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so here's chapter 6! God I need to keep writing because I only have up to chapter 9 ready, I'll be running out of chapters soon

_I'm a long night, you're the morning_  
_I annoy you and you bore me_  
_And it's hard enough to make it through a road that's already a mess_  
 _All the good time we'll be just fine  
Either way we need to be happy..._

 

* * *

 

 

As she was watching a small group of young apatosauruses making their way back to the herd after being checked by the vets, Sarah breathed out a sigh of relief for both the checkup being positive and the hard work of the morning being over. Hands on her hips, her mind drifted to her wedding, and how much she wanted to have everything settled as soon as possible.

Owen’s reassurance from that night out the week before had worked only for a few days, because now she was back in Impatient Mode. She wanted answers.

She quickly checked her schedule for the day and found out she was basically free until after lunch break. A lightbulb appeared over her head as she took out her phone, unlocked it, tapped here and there a few times, her thumb then coming to a rest, hovering over the ‘call’ button under the name _Park Management_. 

She stared at the screen for a good minute before her anger took over and she decided to just go for it, and she rapidly brought her finger down, finally touching the blue round icon.

 

_One ring._

_Two rings._

_Three rings._

 

“Jurassic World management office, I’m Zara. How can I help you?”

“Hello. I’m Sarah… Sarah Phillips. Uhh…Herbivores Responsible. I wanted to know if it’s possible for me to come over to speak with Miss Dearing for a few minutes…as soon as possible.”

Zara froze for a second. Sarah sounded rather frantic. _Shit. Did she find out? Oh God. No, keep it professional, you don’t know anything._

“Umm…She is free at lunchtime. 12:30PM. Let me check with her and I’ll call you back as soon as I have an answer. Is it urgent?”

 _No._ “Yes, please.”

 _Fuuuuuuuuck._ “Okay. I’ll call you back, miss Phillips.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Zara slammed the phone down on its hold on her desk, made her way out of her chair so swiftly she knocked over a couple of sheets and almost tripped on her high heels, and walked awkwardly fast to Claire’s office, busting the door open.

Claire’s head shot up, alarmed. “Zara-“

“Sarah called. She wants to meet you asap. Sounded pissed. I told her you’re free for lunch, why did I tell her that? Do I have to call her back and say you’re busy? I should probably do that.” Zara breathed out, worry spread across her face, chest moving heavily up and down.

“Zara, calm down” Claire said, “Why does she want to see me?”

“I don’t know, Claire. I hope she didn’t find out. Or maybe Owen told her. What if she murders you? That bitch would be capable of that.”

Claire half-smiled. “Woah, I don’t think so. I believe Owen would have told me if he had made such decision…Which is highly unlikely, by the way, because we’re not seeing each other anymore. But, whatever it is. I’m perfectly capable of confronting her. She can meet me at lunch break, here in my office.” She concluded. _I hope I won’t have to call security._

Zara nodded. “O-okay. You sure? Ugh, of course you are. I’ll let her know. Ehm.. call me if you need anything when she’s here. Should we make up code signals?”

Claire then laughed. “Zara. You worry too much. She’s not _that_ hard to handle. But thank you for your concern.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sarah took several deep breaths as she drove over to the Masrani headquarters. The building was modern, immaculate and slightly intimidating. She finally parked the rusty Jeep after having looked for an available spot for three minutes, totally exposed to the costa rican midday sun and about two minutes-walk away from the main entrance, but she didn’t care. Her mood worsened, though, when she spotted Claire’s white Mercedes in her reserved, shaded spot right in front of the door. _Corporate bitch._

She couldn’t feel more out of place. Everyone dressed in suits that had probably cost more than what she made in a year, clicking of high heels coming from every corridor, phones ringing and the distinct smell of paperwork and offices. Her combats carried her feet out of the elevator on the top floor, through yet another security check- _damn, bitch thinks ISIS is coming to visit or something-_ and, after almost getting lost for the third time, she found herself at Zara’s desk.

The dark haired brit offered her a forced smile and told her to wait in one of the nearby chairs. She then made her way to slightly open the door at the end of the small corridor and poked her head behind it, announcing Sarah’s presence, eventually opening further the door to allow her in.

Sarah quickly took in her surroundings. Claire’s office perfectly mirrored its owner. White walls, huge floor-to-ceiling windows that started on the wall behind the desk and ended on the one on her right; on her left a small door to what she presumed was Claire’s personal bathroom, or closet, or both, and a white couch and coffee table. On her right, countless Ikea _kallax_ shelves of all forms, storing all kinds of data, but overall laid out nicely and neatly, and several cabinets containing what she presumed was the most important, classified stuff.

She then focused ahead of her, two comfortable-looking chairs in front of Claire’s large desk, a huge-ass apple computer screen to her left, an iPad Pro under her hands, office supplies and lots of paperwork to her right. She was sitting in her big black leather chair, forcefully smiling at her employee, the sunlight hitting her hair and making it look, well, simply flawless and gorgeous, Sarah had to admit.

“Miss Phillips. Please, take a seat.”

Sarah did as told, sinking in the comfy leather.

“So, what is the urgent matter you wanted to talk to me about?” Claire asked. “Are the herbivores okay?” She showed a bit of concern. She was happy, though, at maybe the thought of Sarah having taken into consideration her apology email and wanting to consult with her.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Sarah shook the feeling of social inferiority that that place gave her and put on a stern look. “The herbivores are fine” She started. “I wanted to talk about carnivores. The velociraptors. When are you going to start working on their attraction?”

Claire was taken aback. “Excuse me” she replied, a confused expression on her face, “But that is none of your business, miss Phillips. The park’s operations are under control, though. We’re working on it, and there’s nothing more to know about that, for a regular Jurassic World employee.” She stated without hesitation.

“Well, I could say I’m here on behalf of my future husband, Owen Grady, velociraptor trainer. Or at least I hope he will be, because we have been searching for answers regarding this project for a long time.” Sarah retorted. “We’re tired of waiting. We want to know as much as possible, for the sake of our future lives here. We can’t settle down if you keep everything under wraps. I just want to know a possible date. Anything. Please.”

Claire didn’t know what to think. _The audacity._ “Miss Phillips, like I said, we are working on it. I can understand your frustration, but your personal life is not our concern. You can’t influence our works just because _you_ decided you wanted to get married after the raptor show opened.” She fired back. _Screw the kind attitude._  

“Plus, if anyone had the right to come here complaining about this, that would be Owe-Mr Grady only. It’s _his_ future job, and I’m sorry but I don’t care if you’re his fiancée, his sister, or his mother. You’re not involved in this project and I can’t share information with you. If you want to talk with park management, you talk about issues concerning _your_ job. Not others’. And certainly not your personal life, especially when _you_ decided to let it be affected by things that are completely out of your control.” Okay, maybe she was taking it a bit personally now, but she honestly couldn’t care less. She despised the girl.

Sarah’s nostrils flared. “Okay, hear me out.” She was ready to fight. “I’m not asking for the moon. A possible date. That’s all I ask. I’m not asking you to organize my fucking wedding. I know you know shit, and just need to know a time reference. Even just the month, really. And don’t pull the personal life stunt on me, because if _you_ had one, you would understand!” She yelled.

Claire was shocked at her manners. She knew Sarah was a bitch, but she never expected her to lose it like this. 

_I just want to inform you your ‘future husband’ was balls deep in me on your couch while you were examining brachiosaurus shit the other day, you little brat._

“Miss Phillips” Her Ice Queen glare was at its full potential, it actually startled Sarah a bit. “If you value your job at this park, which I presume is a big part of your present and future personal life, I suggest you lose the attitude.” She shot back. “You’re in no position to talk to your superior like that. And if you came here just to cause a scene, I think it’s better if you stop wasting both our times and return to your workplace, before I change my mind.”

Sarah knew she had no power, professionally, over Claire, so she again took a deep breath and calmed her nerves, forcefully apologized under her breath and started to make her way out of the office.

Before exiting, though, she took one last stern glance back at her boss and spoke, still rather pissed: “Just please, let Owen know as soon as you have solid information. I know you like him more than me, it would be nice. Thanks for your time.” And with that, she stormed out, leaving an appalled Claire behind her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Blue, hey, look at me!” Owen yelled from the catwalk.

“Don’t give me that look, girl! I know you know what to do. Delta!” He snapped at the other raptor. “Quit hissing, I don’t take your shit anymore!”

He kept clicking at them. Once he got the attention from each of the girls, he released them with a whistle. “Good girls, you’re free to go. Enjoy the rest of your day” He chuckled under his breath.

He then turned towards Barry, who was calling him from downstairs. He made his way towards him, wiping his brow.

“What is it?” Owen asked.

“Would you mind handing the weekly report personally to the office? I’m kind of in a hurry… Beautiful date on the mainland, bro!” Barry explained, wiggling his eyebrows.

Owen laughed. “No problem, buddy. I’ve never done it, anyways… About time it’s my turn, isn’t it?” He said, lightheartedly. He then thought for a second and added: “Wait, what office though?”

Barry smirked at him. “Operations Manager. I usually leave it on Zara’s desk, but the way you always look at Miss Dearing, man, you might wanna pop in to her office to say hi” He joked, totally unaware of what had been going on under the surface.

Owen laughed nervously. “Oh come on, man! Is it that obvious?” He decided to go along with the joke. He then sighed. “I’m taken anyways. Well, have fun on your date! Use protection!!”

Barry just jokingly flipped him off while walking to his car, his back to him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Owen had never visited the offices before, and going to see Claire in her natural habitat was going to be fun. He knew she had ended whatever it was between them, but he still longed to see her. Maybe he could change her mind.

Once he hopped off his bike, manila folder under his right arm, he entered the building and was slightly taken aback by the whole environment inside, much like Sarah had, just hours earlier. 

He walked out of the elevator and towards Claire’s office, slight excitement bubbling in his stomach. He spotted Zara at her desk and decided to wordlessly bypass her, thinking it would work. He was obviously wrong.

“Excuse me? Mr Grady? Is that you? Can I help you?” Zara shot up from her chair, looking a bit too alarmed for a simple situation like that.

“Uhh… I was gonna drop this report to Claire. Is it alright?” 

Zara opened her mouth, then closed it, then replied: “Uhh… sure, sure… go ahead” She said, with a… smirk? Before slowly sitting back down.  _Oookay._

He then made a beeline for the door and knocked.

“Come in” Claire said. “Zara, how come are you bothering to knock-” She started with a curious smile, then her words caught up in her throat as she saw a very familiar handsome face entering her office.

“Owen? What are you doing here? Where’s Zara?” She asked.

“Woah, woah, relax tiger. She let me in. I’m here to handle in my weekly report.” He replied with a smile. 

“Oh, okay. Thank you” She uttered. “You can leave it on my desk here.” She looked rather serious.

Owen approached her table and carefully placed the envelope on it, searching her eyes with his own. When she looked up at him, though, her gaze was strange, empty. 

“…Yes?” She questioned.

“Well, I was hoping I could talk to you for a second” He admitted.

She sighed. “Owen, I’m working. And there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Oh really, Cause my fiancée called me earlier, demanding that I ask you about the raptor show schedule and other shit because she wants to get married and has no patience. She told me everything and, well, once again, I wanted to apologize for her behavior." He paused, trying one more time to catch her gaze before speaking again. "Claire you don’t even know how-”

“-Sorry you are?” She finished for him, standing up from her chair, hands on her desk.

_Okay, I wasn't searching for **this** gaze._

“Owen, will I have to put up with this shit forever now? Sarah acting like a five year old and you coming here afterwards to apologize?? Is she your fiancée or your spoiled daughter??” She spat out.

“Claire believe me, she is an awesome person, she really is. It’s just, you shouldn’t go too hard on her. You have to understand the wedding is her uttermost dream and she hates to see it slip away every time.”

“Going too hard?? Like _I_ was the one who insulted her!!” Claire was beginning to lose it. “I’m tired of her immature, utterly rude behavior and her total lack of _balls_ to come back to apologize in person!! You know why she doesn’t? Because she’s not one bit sorry!! But you know what? I’m probably the stupid one. I should have fired her the first time she insulted me.” Her chest was heavy now.

“Woah, okay.” Owen interrupted her. “She may be a bit short tempered but she loves her job here.”

“Well, if she loves it, tell her to fucking behave herself next time. Maybe, I don’t know, put her on a leash! That would be effective! Since you already have to clean up every mess she makes!” Claire was yelling by now.

“Hey, how I handle my relationship is none of your damn business!” He retorted.

“Oh. My. God. Really, Owen? Really? That’s why you wanted to keep fucking me while you were still with her?? I was supposed to just be okay with it, developing feelings for you, while you weren’t even sure if you wanted to keep me as your _toy_ or not??” She fired back.

“Hey! Don’t bring that up now!” He started, then paused. “Wait…you have…feelings for me?” He tentatively asked.

Claire stared at him, ice in her eyes. “Had. Past tense. Not anymore, especially after the confirmation that you’re an idiot.”

“Oh, really?” He arched one eyebrow. “Well, I hope one day you’ll care enough about life outside of work to understand.” And with that, he walked out of the door, just before Zara peeked in to ask Claire if she could squeeze one last employee for the day, to which her boss just nodded.

Owen saw Colin from the mosasaurus show enter the office behind him and Zara leaving her desk to apparently run some errands, so he took advantage of the empty hall to plop down in one of the waiting chairs and clear his mind, head in his hands.

Back in the office, Claire invited the forty-something year old, dark haired man to sit in a chair in front of her desk.

“How can I help you?” She tried her best not to sound annoyed, angry or tired.

“Well…” He started.

Everything that came out of his mouth then, was like a blur to her, as she couldn’t really bother to focus on what she thought was the umpteenth excuse to ask her out while proposing minor, stupid changes to the water attraction.

“Listen Mr Johnson, I’m really busy at the moment, the feeding show can survive some more time without a reaction-catching camera. I’ll let you know as soon as I can, okay?” She replied, stifling a yawn.

“No, you won’t.” He stated, startling her a bit. _Great, another complainer today. I might as well hire them to replace me and see how many minutes they last._

“You know what, Claire, forget about the camera. How about I take you out to dinner now, how does that sound? So I can take your mind off all this crap” He proposed creepily, reaching out to hold her hand, which she quickly retrieved.

“Uh, it’s Miss Dearing, please. And no thanks, Mr Johnson. I can’t right now, and I certainly don’t go on dates with my employees.” She retorted, glaring at him.

He then shot up from his chair, the scratching sound of its legs on the hardwood floor startling her, and swiftly made his way around her desk, looking her in the eye. To be honest, she felt a bit scared.

“Listen, _Claire_ ” He spat out her name with a creepy smile “How about _I_ make the decisions, instead? Come here you bitch” He growled, then grabbed her wrists, yanking her off her chair and pinning her against her desk, earning a cry from his boss.

“Johnson, let me the fuck go, you creep!!” She ordered, trying to escape him, but his grip was too strong. He then held both her wrists in one hand, reaching under her skirt with the other.

"You are gonna do as I please right now” He grumbled, trying to fumble with the zip of his pants.

Claire was utterly panicked, tears starting to stream down her face, when she finally found the strength and half-lucidity to call out the first word that came to her mind.

 

“OWEN!!”

 

Her panic-filled cry reached its recipient’s ears, his head shooting up from his hands, and he stormed into her office. What he saw made him totally lose his mind. He leaped forward, landing a left hook on Colin’s face, his body falling to the floor. Owen then threw himself at him on the ground, kneeling him in the groin and punching him repeatedly, yelling things like “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HER AGAIN” and “I’M GOINGTO RIP YOUR WORTHLESS FACE APART”.

Claire’s trembling hand then found her desk phone and pressed the ‘security’ button. Three heavy men appeared in her office seconds later, proceeding to pull Owen off Colin, initially misinterpreting the situation.

“No, no, he” Claire started, pointing to Johnson “tried to hurt me. Owen saved me. Leave him alone please.” She demanded, still breathing heavily, and the three men did as told.

“Escort Mr Johnson to the infirmary, then proceed to kick him off the island. I don’t wanna see his face ever again.” She finished, her voice trying to be strong but failing, as the recent trauma was still affecting her.

Once the room was cleared, it was just her and Owen. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, and managed to utter a feeble ‘thank you’ before he rushed over to gather her in his strong arms. 

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here. He’s gone.” He whispered. She held tight onto him and let silent tears wet his shirt, while he slightly rocked their torsos from side to side, rubbing her back and repeatedly kissing her hair.

After a good three minutes, she detached from him a little bit, held onto his biceps and stood on her tippy toes to press her lips to his. Albeit taken by surprise, he eagerly responded and, within seconds, their kiss turned into a sloppy, desperate one. She pulled back, dead serious. 

“Make me forget, Owen.” She demanded.

“Claire, I- are you sure? Are you okay?”

She silenced him with another small kiss. “Yes. I need you. Please.” She pleaded. And he gladly proceeded to move them to her couch to make her feel safe.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Zara had never run so fast up the stairs. She had heard of what had happened to Claire through the security guards, and decided the elevator was too slow.

She reached her floor, still running like a maniac, hastily dropping all the files she was holding onto her desk and rushed to Claire’s door, risking her life several times, due to her high heels and her lack of brilliant athleticism whatsoever. 

 

Boy, hadn’t she wished she knew better.

 

The sight of Claire and Owen, half- more like three quarters- naked, both coming down from very obvious orgasms on the white leather couch, burned deep into her eyes.

She cursed under her breath and quickly apologized the best she could, face turning crimson and then slamming the door behind her on her way out.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit!” Owen exclaimed, untangling himself from Claire and haphazardly getting dressed again.

“God, Owen, I’m so sorry, I-” Claire started, but Owen silenced her with a kiss to her temple.

“It’s not your fault. You’re amazing, Claire.” He said sweetly. “I just… this… was a mistake. You were right. We shouldn’t… Not when I’m engaged…” He stuttered, when Claire grabbed his face in her palms, rubbing it soothingly.

“I know Owen. That’s why I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.” She whispered,

“Claire, I like you, I really do. I will always be there for you. But we can’t keep doing this. The fact that Zara just saw us… You know she’s the source of all gossip on this island, right?” He breathed out. 

“Hey, don’t worry. She won’t tell anyone, I promise you.” Claire reassured him. “But yeah. It’s better if we stop it here” she concluded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“Yeah” Owen agreed. He stared at her for a couple of seconds, then buttoned up his shirt and walked out the door, leaving a naked and vulnerable Claire silently crying in her office.


	7. Whatever You Want

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! chapter seven. We're getting closer to the point! Enjoy

_I know, I know, I know you think it's me, 'cause I want it all_   
_I know, I know, I know, I know you see, do we gotta talk?_   
_No, you know, you know we must believe... or fall apart_

 

* * *

 

 

One month later, Sarah had finally stopped fussing over the wedding and the raptor show opening. Well, maybe because It _had_ finally opened.

Today was her big day. Well, technically, it was Owen and his raptors’ big day, but it also meant the waiting time was over and they could set a date for their wedding. She was over the moon.

“Hurry up babe!!” She shouted from the porch, barely able to stand still. “I can’t wait to get there!”

“Sarah, we’re two hours early. Nobody’s gonna be there apart from the heads of three levels of management, waiting for me with tons of paperwork to sign and possible pictures to take. Calm down.” Owen lazily replied, taking heavy steps towards the front door, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Sarah rolled her eyes, but didn’t stop bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Owen, you’re no fun. Will you be like this the day of our wedding, too? Which is only a couple of months from now!!” She added, clapping her hands gleefully. “God, everything’s perfect. Come on, let’s go!” She motioned for him to come outside as soon as possible.

It had always slightly irritated Owen that Sarah was this joyful and carefree only when _she_ was satisfied. He could have bet if his new job hadn’t led to them getting married, she would have still been in bed, refusing to get up. He pushed the thought away and started the car, driving to the new raptor enclosure.

Like he had told her, once they arrived, there were only three people - apart from a bunch of maintenance guys - waiting for them: Sam Todd, carnivores health department manager, David Bishop, live dinosaurs attractions manager and, of course, _Her._ Whole Damn Park manager. This was going to be fun.

Owen immediately felt uneasy. He perfectly knew Claire was going to be there, but he hadn’t thought he would have felt _this_ way. Once he walked over to her to finally sign his contract, he couldn’t help briefly taking in her features, even if she didn’t dare to look up at him. The first thing he noticed was the freshly cut bob. _No shit she didn’t give a fuck about your request, Grady._ But she was glowing. Her makeup was flawless, enhancing her green orbs, which today were more like aqua blue. Her overall face, though, looked different. Her skin was clearer than ever, cheeks rosy and lips plumper than usual. _She really made an effort to look good for today_ , Owen thought, a slight smile forming on his lips as he hastily scribbled his name under her stern gaze.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hello, everyone.” Claire’s voice echoed through the speakers, aimed at the crowd of the very lucky owners of tickets to the very first show, and a few cameras from local news channels. “And welcome to the inauguration of Jurassic World’s newest attraction, the Velociraptor Training Show. I am Claire Dearing, Operations Manager of the park, and I’m thrilled to launch our very first exhibition.”

She went on talking about the raptors and Owen’s story, perfectly following the script she had been given by Masrani and Hoskins after she had insisted she personally wanted to present the new attraction to the public.

The audience clapped at the end, as she finished her speech by introducing the next people to take the microphone: Barry, Owen and Sarah. The latter having been forcefully thrown into the group after she had insisted she had played an _important role_ in Owen’s decision, but Claire most certainly did not want to endure another Spoiled Bitch rant, so she had just given her heads up, not wanting to ruin the day with unwanted tension in the air.

Although she was about to find out that said issue was far from solved.

In fact, when Barry finished his brief speech, it was Owen’s turn. He, contrary to Claire, didn’t have a script, thus spoke in the moment, from the heart.

“Well” he started. “Since all the formalities and technicalities have already been dealt with, I won’t spoil any of what’s coming for you in a few minutes. Instead, I wanted to pay attention to these very important people here with me today, who made this show possible each in a different way.” He took a breath and quick glances at each of them.

“I wanted to firstly thank Monsieur Barry Dupont, here.” He started, patting the man on the back. “Without him, I would have certainly ended up with more than a few scratches.” He chuckled, along with everyone else around him. “He’s truly a wonderful coworker and helper, and I can’t wait to keep working with him, with this wonderful animals.”

“Secondly, I wanted to thank my beautiful fiancée Sarah” he continued, gesturing towards her and earning an overdramatic blown kiss to him that almost made him roll his eyes. “She convinced me to dive in and take this job, which ended up being one of the best decisions of my life, which then lead to my other best decision: proposing.” The crowd ‘awwe’d at that. “I’ll never thank her enough.” He concluded, though never tearing his gaze from the wide pen below him, at least until he looked at Claire, speaking again.

“And lastly” He went on, “None of this, and I don’t just mean this thing right here, but the whole experience of Jurassic World. None of _this_ would have been possible without the amazing Claire Dearing.” He kept looking at her, and she was like a deer caught in headlights. Definitely wasn’t expecting it, and Owen chuckled under his breath as he succeeded at catching her by surprise yet again.

“She is the most hardworking person I have ever met. Not only does she keep the biggest theme park in the world running flawlessly, but also deeply cares about everything in it. She is fully committed and has achieved _massive_ goals for her age and experience. So, every time you’re in awe of a dinosaur, or every time you enjoy a perfectly cooked meal in a restaurant on Main Street- it’s all happening because of _her_. Never forget that. Never forget that face.” He finished, pointing at her.

At that, the audience started clapping and cheering, most of them standing from their seats, with nothing but _respect_ for Claire Dearing, who was on the brink of tears. Owen let out a final “thank you” in the middle of the whole noise, and looked at Claire, who muttered the same words to him, with a straight face but very wet eyes.

 

_Mission Accomplished._

 

Or almost.

 

Interrupting the cheering was none other than Sarah, all but tearing the microphone from Owen’s hand, almost taking a finger of his with it, too.

“Okay, okay, my turn!” She announced. It took a while for the audience to reluctantly settle down and listen to her.

“I’ll make it quick because well, I imagine you all want to get to the actual show by now. I’m Sarah Phillips, Owen’s future wife, and I just wanted to add that, like my fiancé said, I was the one who basically dragged his butt to Isla Nublar!” She tried to humor them, with little success. “This place has become our home now, and we’re so fond of it that we decided to get married on the beautiful beach on the south eastern part of the island!”

At that, Owen’s head swiftly turned to her in shock, along with Barry’s and Claire’s. _What the fuck is she talking about?_

She obviously felt that, but she didn’t care. “The wedding will take place on October 7th so make sure you don’t book a beach vacation on that day, as it will be off limits!” She concluded, laughing so forcefully and obnoxiously that multiple people had to cringe.

Owen could only stand in shock as Sarah and Claire were gently escorted down the catwalk and Barry made his way to release the raptors in the show pen: everything was ready to begin the second his fiancée had turned the mic off.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Back at the bungalow, in the evening, as the day came to an end, Sarah was cooking a special dinner for Owen, when he entered soundly, almost breaking the door, from his first day of work.

“Babe, I made you din-”

“WHAT the fuck was that, Sarah?” Owen interrupted her chirpy talk.

“What are you talking about?” She feigned ignorance.

“Cut the crap. What has gotten into you?? Why the fuck did you publicly announce our wedding like it was all set?? Where the fuck did October 7th come from?? The beach?? Sarah??” 

“God, Owen, relax!!” She rolled her eyes. “We never actually got to that subject despite your job being confirmed, so I thought it might be good to surprise you a little, on your big debut day!” She admitted with a shrug and a broad, toothy smile.

“Oh, so you thought it was okay to make up a random date and place and tell everyone? It’s _our_ wedding, not just yours, goddamnit!! Now everybody will think we both had that announcement planned and my professional approach went to shit. Thanks a lot, woman!” He spat.

Sarah scoffed. “Since when do you care about a professional approach?” She inquired. “Is it since Corporate Bitch got into your little head? Oh, and by the way, you can just take her goddamn pants off and directly kiss her ass, next time!” She added bitterly.

“You better shut the fuck up before I break the whole damn house, Sarah. I’m really not in the mood.” Owen warned, growling.

“Oooh” she teased, “Here comes Protect The Boss-Owen!! God, will you ever stop worshipping that piece of shit? She only cares about profit. Not a single other thing about this park. I tell you, she’s so focused on work, I bet she’s still a fucking virgin”

Owen couldn’t resist a snort, letting Sarah think he just found her stupid joke funny, nothing more. He then switched his gaze from the floor to her face.

“I’ll only say this one more time” Owen warned, but with a disgusted smile. “You better cut the shit here, Sarah. Or, for fuck’s sake, shall it be the last thing I do, your perfect October wedding on the goddamn beach will not fucking happen. And you better not pull a stunt like that ever again. Understood?” He angrily spat, pointing his index finger at her.

Sarah started opening her mouth to protest at his sudden burst of anger, but she didn’t know how to handle it, so Owen just grunted and made his way to the shower, leaving a shocked fiancée standing by the kitchen stove.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Back in her penthouse, Claire was trying to focus on paperwork, but couldn’t. Her mind was screaming Owen’s name, the thought of his praising words from that morning kept haunting her. It reminded of their first night on that beach. The same beach he was apparently going to get married on; although, she saw his shocked look mirroring hers when Sarah made the announcement, so she wasn’t really sure it was planned, or that Owen knew anything about it, for the matter.

Her umpteenth headache told her it was finally time to take care of herself and her physical issues, so she took a deep, steady breath and made her way to the bathroom.

She couldn’t really hold back from work, though, as once she was done with her hot shower, she brought a bag of body lotions and other items from the bathroom to the living room, trying to take care of personal issues and professional ones at the same time. Operations Managers had no time to waste, after all.

As she laid out papers from that day’s raptor shows, though, what she saw on her table startled her. _My instincts were right, oh my god._  

She fell back into her couch and tried her best not to hyperventilate, then, once she managed to see straight again, she grabbed her phone and immediately found Zara’s name among her recent calls, tapping the ‘call’ button at the speed of light.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Babe, you’re not going to let me shower alone, aren’t you?” Zara told her boyfriend, clad in only her underwear, back in their shared condo on the mainland.

“Huh..?” He barely turned his head from the tv, eyes not leaving the Super Smash Bros game he was currently focused on. Zara rolled her eyes.

“Do you want to have sex or not, Alec?” She annoyedly yelled from the hallway.

“Uhh…sure, honey. Let me finish this real qui- WHAT THE FUCK?” He yelled, startling her.  “How could he kill me like that??? My damage was only 13%, you cunts!!” He protested, before dropping the controller to the coffee table and walking over to his girlfriend, a smirk forming on his face. “I’ll take that offer now.”

Zara rolled her eyes again and smiled, her arms coming up to Alec’s chest, when her phone started ringing, alarming them both.

Alec took a glance at it on the couch, and grunted. “What does that uptight bitch of your boss want now?? Don’t fucking answer please.”

“Alec. It could be important. She rarely calls when she knows I’m home. Plus, there was nothing left unfinished today, so it might as well be an emergency.” Zara said, already on her way to pick up.

Alec then sighed and slumped back on the couch, rubbing his face with his hand and listening to Zara taking the call.

“Yes, Claire? What is it?…Wait…slow down…”

 

Silence.

 

He then watched her as a hand came up to her hair, gripping it hard, hearing her mutter two final words before hurrying to the bedroom to get dressed and leave.

 

 

 

“Oh, bollocks.”


	8. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO I actually renamed every chapter after a song of P!nk's and added a couple of lyrics from each title that fit every chapter at the beginning, so you can get an idea of what's in it and also feel free to check the whole songs out! :) BUT! this is the very climax of the story and I'm so despicable that I won't update soon after this, so I can leave you with a thrill for some days! enjoy!

 

 _I've got some things to say_  
_'Cause there's a lot that you don't know_  
_It's written on my face_  
_It's gonna be hard to swallow_

 

* * *

 

 

As he was preparing for the third and last raptor show of the day, Owen sat down for a moment, drinking water in large gulps from his bottle and relaxing for a couple of minutes. His thoughts were mainly about his upcoming wedding: in fact, two days after having fought about it on the day of the inauguration of the show, he and Sarah had come to an agreement and set the big event as she had wanted. October 7th, South Eastern Beach. A bit too much in the spotlight for Owen, who had hoped for a ceremony in a more intimate place - certainly not a beach full of tourists who would assist from afar - but he was tired of arguing with Sarah; plus it was just for one day after all, and no matter how much he tried to think it was about them both, it was rather obvious the wedding would have mostly evolved around what _she_ wanted. So he’d stopped getting in the way, for the sake of their happiness. He really just wanted to get that over with, already.

He took one last sip of water and walked over to the catwalk-slash-stage to start his final speech of the day, secretly hoping the girls would bear it all again, since they hadn’t really been in the mood that day. _Females._ But Barry had promised him they would go out for drinks after that, and the thought of alcohol was enough to keep Owen active and determined till the end of the show.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the island, Sarah was struggling with her team of park rangers to catch yet another pachycephalosaur that had escaped its area of containment. Her happy thoughts about finally getting married were pushed aside for the couple of hours spent trying to fix the problem.

“I can’t believe they still haven’t fixed the fence! That’s the only reason shit like this keeps happening. Have you talked to Herbivores Management??” She said frustratedly to Jen, one of her best colleagues, as they waited for the - finally caught - Pachy to wake up from the tranq shot and reunite with the herd.

“Me and Jim tried, twice this month” the blonde replied, “They always say they’d deal with it as soon as possible but like, yesterday I saw Mr Robinson playing Tetris in his office when I walked by. You don’t know how much I wanted to take pics and send them to Park Management somehow.” Jen added, huffing.

Sarah snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like she’d care.”

Jen sighed: “Sarah, you gotta stop being so hard on Ice Queen. Yes, I’m not a fan of her either but she still keeps this place going, and at such a young age” Jen pointed out. “I mean, it’s not for everyone. I bet we wouldn’t be able to keep up with that level of business for one hour.” She added, toying with a leaf as they were both sitting on the ground.

Sarah took a deep breath and looked at the bright blue sky. “Yeah, but…still.” She murmured, kinda sadly.

“Honey, is there something else about her that makes you despise her so much? Because she’s always on your mind, lately!” Jen exclaimed. “And by lately, I mean the last two months, if not longer!”

“Well, let’s just say it’s obvious she likes my fiancé.” Sarah declared, rather amused. “Like, it’s so ridiculous. She’s all serious all the time but turns into mush when Owen is around, which is kinda funny though, because literally everyone has noticed.” She let out a small evil laugh. “The thing I don’t like, is that Owen doesn’t see her carelessness about the heart of this park: the dinosaurs. She views them as assets and nothing more. But, somehow, he thinks she’s amazing and I can’t stand that.” Sarah admitted. “I never told him this, I don’t want to be the classic jealous partner that feels threatened by the first female that comes around. I just can’t see why he admires _her_ , out of all people. She’s exploiting his raptors, for fuck’s sake. Three shows a day. They’re not made for this lifestyle.” She shook her head.

Jen raised her eyebrows. “Ice Queen crushing? I gotta see that!” She added with a laugh, which was mirrored by Sarah. “Well, you can’t really blame her for that. If I weren’t gay I’d crush on him too, to be honest. He’s one hell of a good looking man, girl!” She smiled. “Maybe you should use him to convince her to make some changes, though. Wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Trust me, I’ve tried. He’s too much of a good man to take advantage of other people’s weaknesses, Jen. And I grew to respect his own respect for her. I’m marrying a saint.” Sarah replied.

“Aww, I’m glad you have him. Can’t wait for the wedding!” Jen told her excitedly, before they were both distracted by the Pachy finally starting to move.

“Good girl!” Sarah exclaimed. “Take it easy…take it eas- there you go!” She incited the dinosaur, watching her wobble turn into a steady walk back into the forest. She then took one last glance at the temporarily fixed fence, before sighing: “I’m really gonna flip a shit if management keeps ignoring this.”

Jen gave her a sympathetic look before putting one arm around her shoulder and leading her out of the enclosure. “Go home, get some rest, girly. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days, and if nothing comes out of that office, I promise you I’m going to have a word with the Queen herself” she reassured her with a small smile.

Sarah let out a small chuckle. “Thanks, Jen.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sarah finally got to the bungalow after having waited nearly two hours on the blocked road due to a fallen tree. A park safety squad had arrived late to remove it, and, cherry on top, it had taken them quite a bit. So Sarah had called Owen to tell him to eat his dinner and she would have fixed herself something later.

As she tiredly made her way to the porch, she was startled by another presence there. She could barely make out a woman standing next to the steps, only thanks to the light coming from the front door. As she got closer, her breath hitched in her throat.

 

Claire.

 

Clad in purple pyjama shorts and a black tank top, hair messy and slightly wavy. Was that even her?? It couldn’t be. Claire always looked impeccable.

_Great. You finally get home thinking you’re gonna take a break from today’s shit and you find it waiting for you at your house._

“What are you doing here?” Sarah approached her, coldly.

She could see Claire jumped at that, clearly too buried in her own thoughts at the moment to notice her. But she recovered quickly and went into Boss Mode.

“Miss Phillips! I didn’t see you. And may I ask you to moderate your tone, please. I’m your boss. And I’m here to…speak with Owen Grady.” 

Sarah’s eyebrows shot up, ignoring her superior’s demand. She couldn’t not take advantage of her current state. “Oh really? Why the late time? And…” she scanned her from head to toes, “The…professional attire?” She couldn’t resist mocking her. That woman didn’t look like Claire Dearing _at all_. “Is it something urgent?”

Claire lifted her chin and tried to look as stern as possible, fully aware of her vulnerable state. “Well, yes.” She looked away.

Sarah cocked her head to the side, curious and slightly amused. There was no way in hell Claire would have come to talk about business in such a disheveled state. “Well, then, come inside and tell us!” She motioned towards the front door. Claire’s eyes shot up at her.

“Oh, n-no.” She almost stuttered. “I need to speak with Mr Grady, _alone_.”

Sarah was growing impatient. She wasn’t wasting her relaxing evening for that woman.

“Owen and I are getting married in less than two months.” She started. “I’ll be hearing about his business all the time anyways, whether you like it or not. So you can spare me the privacy shit.”

“Okay, Phillips.” Claire immediately shot back, not being able to hide her irritation anymore. “I may not be on duty right now, but my position in this park still stands above you. And when I say I need to speak with my employee privately, I will. I don’t care if he shares it with you afterwards, because that’s his decision and his responsibility to handle the information he’s given.” She retorted. “So, unless you work close to him, in the same department, I suggest you back off. I’m tired of your little riots, missy.” She pointed her finger at her. She couldn’t hold herself back with Sarah anymore. She needed to be put in her place.

Sarah scoffed, looking away and rolling her eyes, arms crossed in front of her chest. “Listen, I don’t know how to put it”. She was now almost totally sure Claire was there to confess her feelings for Owen. There was no other explanation. And she wanted so bad to see the Ice Queen façade fall. “But, you would never come here late at night, clad in PJs, to discuss business. No matter how urgent. So, tell me. Why are you really here?” Sarah inquired.

Claire was starting to see red by then. She raised her voice, trying to sound menacing: “Phillips, you either let me speak to Owen alone, or you can say goodbye to your job!!” She yelled, fists clenched at her sides.

Before Sarah could reply, Owen himself appeared at the front door, awoken from his post-dinner snooze on the couch by the loud voices outside.

“Woah, whats going o-” he abruptly stopped, taking in Claire’s figure. “Claire?” He narrowed his eyes. “What-why- do you need anything..?” 

Before she could speak, though, Sarah intervened: “Let’s all go inside. Miss Dearing said she needs to talk to you” she added, passing him while entering the bungalow, Claire following soon after, only because she was starting to get cold outside, stoic gaze never dropping from her face.

Sarah couldn’t wait to witness her boss’ stuttering, attempting to pull off an excuse. Or, even better, watching her fall, professing her love to Owen and getting roasted by the couple.

Owen, on the other hand, just wanted Claire to go home. He had just successfully managed to push all thoughts of her away and focus on his wedding. But he fully knew it only took one glance at her vulnerable state to feel for her again, and it was already too late.

Once they were all standing inside, Owen tried to get that over with. “Okay, so, what is it? Why the late night visit?” He asked, concerned, arms crossed.

“Well…” Claire started. She couldn’t form words. But she couldn’t tell him with Sarah in the room.

“OH COME ON CLAIRE!!” It was Sarah’s turn to burst. “JUST SPILL THE BEANS!! WHAT IS IT??” She was teasing her mercilessly.

Claire didn’t think it was possible to feel that pressured. Which only made her want to punch Sarah in the face. The anger was so great, though, she decided to punish her. So she just confessed.

“SPILL THE BEANS?” She looked at the brunette with rage in her eyes. “YOU WANT ME TO SPILL THE BEANS???” She repeated her words. Sarah’s resting bitch face only pushing her further. “FINE” She decided. She then turned to a very confused Owen, staring at him with a mixture of anger and panic in her eyes, before speaking again:

 

 

 

 

“I’m pregnant.”


	9. Timebomb

_I'm delicate, I'm sensitive_  
_Please try to be more careful_  
 _You're mean, you're a lunatic  
Let's try to make this fun again_

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m pregnant.”

 

Claire’s words had never sounded more chilling to anyone’s ears than in that exact moment for Owen and Sarah. Not even when she used to coldly direct orders to poor, innocent employees on her worst days.

Sarah’s eyebrows shot up at the speed of light, mouth slightly agape. Owen’s eyes were about to fall off their sockets, his lungs basically flat and vacuumed of all air. He was surprised his heart was still beating, albeit erratically, and that he also was still standing. Because his brain was running at a thousand miles per hour. 

_Pregnant. Baby. Mine. Wedding. Over. Whatthefuckisgoingon._

“Oh-kay…” Sarah tried to recompose herself. Deep down, her worst fears were coming to life, but nothing was certain yet, so she tried to keep it cool. “So… what- what does it have to do with all… this? Us?” She asked carefully, gesturing to her and Owen, voice slightly trembling with her subconscious fears. All hairs on her body stood up.

Claire didn’t know what to say. It was literally a ticking time bomb now. Her chest heavily going up and down, heart pounding, she briefly stole a glance at Owen as to silently ask for help before returning to hold Sarah’s gaze. _I came here to talk to Owen alone. What do you think that means??_

Her prolonged silence and the desperate look she shot at him which didn’t go unnoticed, though, were enough to make Sarah finally connect the dots.

 

00:03…

00:02…

00:01…

_Boom._

 

Sarah felt her stomach drop, her breathing became heavy within seconds. “NO.” She thundered. Her look was that of pure shock and terror. Like she had seen a ghost.

“You WHORE!” She shrieked, pointing her finger at Claire, who really didn’t feel like reacting at all. She just silently braced for the explosion of rage that was about to come.

“You…filthy…slutty…WHORE!” Sarah continued, voice starting to quiver. “What the fuck is going on??”

Silence. Owen and Claire looked briefly at each other before returning their gazes to the floor. Jumping slightly as Sarah pressed:

“YOU TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!! YOU BASTARDS!!” Her lungs burned.

“Sarah…” Owen tested the waters, obviously knowing it was a lost battle.

“DON’T YOU DARE.” She now pointed at him, rage and utter disgust in her eyes. “DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!!!!” Owen swore the glass of his windows was about to shatter at any moment. 

“So this is how it is, huh?” Sarah continued, a disgusted smile on her face and tears welling in her eyes. She looked between the guilty-puppy looking couple, before settling her gaze on her - now clearly ex - fiancé. “You get to work for Jurassic World, meet the redhead and can’t keep it in your pants, huh?” She spat.

Owen’s eyes shot up. “Don’t- that’s not-” He started, before being interrupted again.

“Gosh, I should have seen that coming, no? The late shifts, the excuses… All because you literally see red and immediately need to get your dick wet!!” She started firing ginger women stereotypes like a machine gun, all because Owen had once casually told her he used to have a sweet spot for women with red hair.

Claire felt hurt, and tried to clarify. “Sarah, please. It was not like that.” She found her own voice surprisingly calm for a situation like that.

But before the angry brunette could reply, Owen intervened: “She’s right. It was a… a fling. I’m sorry.” He tried to explain. _A fling with a lot of feelings._

“Oh, a FLING???” Sarah was, if possible, even more furious now. “Oh, right, yeah I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND NOW!!!!” She shouted, sarcastically. Then she turned to Claire again. “You’re such a workaholic bitch, no wonder you have no time for sex!! But when you need it, oh well, there’s this ENGAGED MAN I could call!!! Let his fucking-a-redhead fantasy come true!!! And fuck protection, too!!” She spat.

“OKAY, ENOUGH.” Owen boldly intervened. “Sarah, you wanna know how it went? Well, _I_ made the first step. _I_ grabbed her and kissed her, right on the same beach you wanted to get married on.” He shot back. “She told me it wasn’t right, but _you’re_ right, I couldn’t hold myself back. But, unlike you said, it was not just because of her looks. I fell for this woman, Sarah. All of her” He let out, pointing to a - now rather surprised - Claire.

“She convinced me not to pursue what we had. She wanted me to be with you.” Owen continued. “So, if there’s anyone to blame here, it’s me. I’m the one who should have known better.” Sarah was almost kind of relieved, before he concluded: “I should have left you the moment I saw her.” And he managed to shoot a small smile at Claire.

Both women’s faces reflected pure shock. 

 

_He…really has feelings for me?_

 

_Is this a fucking nightmare???_

 

Sarah gasped, laughing nervously. “God. GOD!!” She exclaimed, bringing a hand to her forehead, needing to lean on the back of the couch for support.

“You know what” She then spoke, lips tight, looking at both of them, but then settling on Owen. “I’m out of here. You” she said, looking at Claire, “Better book me one hell of a fucking luxurious suite at the resort while I pack my stuff. I can’t stay here. It makes me fucking sick. YOU make me fucking sick!!!” She accused.

Claire was taken aback for a second, but the thought of Sarah leaving was so relieving that she immediately grabbed her phone from her pocket and did as told, with trembling fingers.

Once she was done, the brunette came out of the hallway with two large bags, looking at the still alarmed couple for the last time. “Fuck you.” And with that, she slammed the door.

Claire then turned from the door to Owen, and, due to a mixture of hormones and shock for what had just happened and his confession of his feelings for her, she bursted into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Owen immediately rushed to her, gathering her in his arms and leading her to sit on his lap on the couch, repeatedly kissing her hair and rubbing circles on her back. 

She kept sobbing and muttering a series of apologies and self-hating statements, which Owen denied every time with a kiss to her hair. He knew she just needed to let it out, though, so he just kept holding her and trying to soothe her the best he could.

Once her breakdown came to an end, she stayed silent for a bit before lifting her head up to look at him, wiping her puffy red eyes hastily with the pads of her fingers, and sniffled. “You… had feelings for me?” She timidly asked, her voice barely audible.

Owen looked down at her lovingly, brushing stray strands of hair out of her face. “Have. Present tense, Claire. I’m an idiot for not having realized it sooner. For not having pursued my feelings.” He wanted to say more but she grabbed the collar of his shirt for dear life and crushed her lips to his, in a desperate but sweet kiss, to which he responded gladly, caressing her face with one hand and bringing her closer with the other, resting on her back. They parted with a series of brief pecks, and rested their foreheads together.

“I have feelings for you, too, you know.” She confessed against his mouth, her voice still a weak whisper. She wasn’t used to showing such vulnerability. He stole one last small kiss, before speaking.

“I want this, you know. I want to keep it” He managed to say, bringing the hand that was on her back, on her lower belly, gently caressing it. “I want us, Claire.”

A tear escaped her right eye, and she sniffled once again, this time though, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “Okay.” She uttered. Then her love-dazed brain started working again, making her find the right words. “I’m sorry, Owen, for ruining what you had.” She started, going against his attempt at shushing her. “No, YOU shh. You were about to get married. Let’s face it.” She was clearly brilliantly regaining her composure and her senses, but her forehead remained attached to his. She needed his physical contact like oxygen. “But, I’d be lying if I said I wanted you to. Because, seeing you with her, made me extremely sad. I couldn’t help what I was feeling for you. When you kissed me… for once in my life, I felt happy and carefree. Like my life had finally clicked into place, because apparently, that’s what I need to be complete. I need someone to make me feel loved. I need you, Owen.” She concluded, her voice cracking again, closing her eyes.

He kissed her deeply and sloppily, tongue and all, then. They clang to each other for dear life, not leaving any space between any of their body parts.

When they parted to breathe again, Owen framed her face with both his hands, looking deep into her soul. “I love you, Claire:” He breathed out. “God, I love you so much” He continued, before diving in for another kiss.

 

She pulled back first this time, slightly shocked at his bluntness but smiling, only to reply: “I love you too, Owen. You make me so happy.” she confessed, tears now freely flowing on both their faces. He kept stealing small kisses from her now bruised lips, caressing every part of her body, before finally picking her up and bringing her to bed.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The following day, Claire was back in her office. She had a park to run, after all. Her thoughts kept drifting to how loving Owen had been with her the night before, how reluctantly they had parted in the morning and how much she longed to go back to him in the evening.

 _I am working as if nothing happened, and there’s a tiny human in my belly. What the hell._ She mused, but Owen’s reaction to it had been so good, she was very hopeful. They could figure it out together. For once in her life, Claire wasn’t scared about not having everything under control. She had Owen, and it was enough for her.

Her daydreaming was interrupted when she thought about Sarah. She must have felt terrible. Claire didn’t care if she was a spoiled brat at the moment, she still felt guilty. She had basically ruined her life plans. So she decided to call her into her office.

 

“Look, I don’t know if you want to rub it in now, gloat or whatever. I’m really not in the mood.” A really annoyed Sarah stated from in front of Claire’s desk, not even an hour later. “You’re really the last person I want to see right now, and I hope this ‘urgent thing’ is gonna be quick. Got it?” Her look was murderous.

Claire took a deep breath and started: “I know Sarah. In fact, I know you would want to leave this island right now. But your love for your job is too great. There’s no other place in the world where you could work with dinosaurs. So, to apologize for my personal life interfering with yours in such a harsh way… I want to give you a promotion, or a raise. Anything you would like, concerning your job. It’s the least I could do, after-”

“Ruining my life?” Sarah spat. “Yeah, no shit. How thoughtful of you.”

“Sarah.” Claire warned sternly. “I’m always your boss, moderate your language. What I’m proposing here is hugely exceptional. Don’t waste this opportunity.”

“Okay, let me get this straight.” Sarah clasped her hands together on the desk. “Your ego is bruised, along with your professional reputation around me, but you clearly need me in this park, so you are begging me not to leave, bribing me with any kind of promotion, sitting behind your pretty Operations Manager desk, with my ex husband-to-be’s offspring growing in your uterus. How sweet.”

Claire blankly looked at her. She was right, after all.

“Miss Phillips, I am stepping out the lines in order to give you the best opportunities here. It’s the least I could do after what…happened. And it’s impossible not to bring it up, especially when it’s so fresh. I’m so sorry, okay?” _To hell the professional manners._ “I’m sorry you had to find out like this, I understand your life is upside down now. And I fully know, like I said, that you would want to run as far away as possible from me and Owen, but you can’t, because your dinosaurs and this park, that you love so much, need you. And you need them. And there’s no other way to stay here that does not involve working for me, so I understand your hatred for your current situation. I want to make it easier for you, because I am not a total heartless bitch like you think; just tell me what you want, and I’ll do my best to give it to you.”

Sarah stared at her with pure disgust on her face, but then spoke: “I want to be manager of the herbivores department.” She stated, emotionlessly. “The current one’s a dick. Never gets anything done. Fire him.”

Claire took a deep breath. Well, after all, she knew Ned Robinson was famous for playing games on his computer instead of working. Zara had told her multiple times, reporting angry complaints from his employees.

“Okay.” she breathed out, pursing her lips. “I’ll do it.”

Sarah stared at her, pleased, before Claire added: “Oh and please. Let this stay between us. I know you hate me, and have every right to, but for the sake of this park, please don’t talk about this - and my pregnancy. I know you’re not a bad person anyways. I would do the same for you.” She sounded desperate, she knew it, but she would have done ANYTHING in that moment, even getting on her knees, in order to plead Sarah not to tell anyone about their situation. 

Sarah simply sighed and slowly nodded at her, before standing up to leave, but once she got to the door she turned around and added: “Oh, but for the record. This little ‘apology’ you offered is no redemption for you. Don’t think your conscience can be cleaned with such a poor action. What you both did to me was horrible. And I’ll never forgive you. Bye.”

As she slammed the door, though, Claire felt a huge weight lifting from her shoulders. Hopefully, she would never have to deal with Sarah again for quite some time, especially if she became herbivores manager. Speaking of which, she grabbed her desk phone, mentally preparing for what was about to come, then she dialled the number and called Robinson into her office for the latest news.


	10. Blow Me One Last Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oookay people! There's more drama coming in the next chapters, but for now, enjoy a small happy ending! xx

_I won't miss all of the fighting_  
_That we always did_  
_Take it in_  
_I mean what I say when I say "there is nothing left"_

 

* * *

 

 

One week after the life changing announcement, Claire was glad it had worked out well with Owen. They were still trying to figure out their relationship, but she was happy nonetheless. For the first time in her life, she let things flow and didn’t feel the need to know answers or have everything under control. It was just a matter of time and she was willing to wait.

She stepped out of the elevator in the Control Center, heels clicking under her and folder in her hands.

“What’s the count for today?” She asked Lowery without even looking at him, the words practically leaving her mouth as soon as she was inside the room, the routine she had developed every day for the past six years kicking in, as always.

Lowery, though, didn’t immediately reply like a dutiful soldier like every other time, but just smiled at her.

Claire threw him a confused but icy glare, and it was all it took for him to recompose himself and start listing all the numbers.

 

Once he was done with the daily info, he added: “Is there anything more I can do for you?” He seemed sincere and kind, but it still threw Claire off. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“What is going on, Lowery?” She inquired, now aware of a few other members of Control looking at them.

“Oh, you tell me, Claire.” He took a sip of whatever his venti cup contained. “Want some more info on any particular attraction?” Claire still didn’t get him, but she was on edge. She shot him a puzzled look that said _get to the fucking point,_ which he apparently got, because he then quickly added: “Like- the raptor show?” He concluded, slightly wiggling his eyebrows at the words.

Claire froze.

_It can’t be._

“Excuse me?” She asked once she regained control of her mind, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips. _Try to look casual, try to look casual._

“Wellll….” Lowery smirked, taking it lightly. “There’s this rumour. Of you and the velociraptor trainer. Going on in the park. Didn’t you know?” He said, with a small laugh.

None of them spoke for what felt like ages, before he added, trying to fix the awkward situation: “Is it…is it true? I mean, it’s just a rumour, right? I- I thought you knew, I’m sorry for teasing you like that, I’m an idiot.” He bowed his head in defeat. His colleague Vivian came to his rescue, though.

“Well, Claire, he is a very good looking man! I would pay to have people talking about me and him!” She said, clearly not helping, because all she got was another cold stare from Claire and an offended look from Lowery.

“Oh, please.” Claire casually waved her hand as she started to build up a wall, not quite knowing what to say but hoping to find the right words in the process. Which wasn’t exactly the best idea. “Isn’t he engaged, anyways?” She feigned ignorance, nonchalantly. “To…Sarah, right? The new herbivores manager?”

“Uhh…” Lowery replied, “You see, that’s kinda the point…” His boss’ persistent killer glare urged him to go on. “The rumour, uh…It- it kinda came from her. She said you made her herbivores manager because you… y’know… had a thing with Grady. That's what she told her colleagues, at least. I thought it was only because she hated your guts.” He explained shyly, then thought out loud: “Although that would explain why she called the wedding off and now lives in a hella big room at the resort…” He half-chuckled, then quickly realized he was verbalizing everything, so he shut his mouth and looked at an intimidating Claire with wide eyes. “Shhhit, I didn’t mean to…” But he saw Claire looking away, her chest heavy. “Wait, is it- is it _TRUE_?” He asked, incredulous, for the whole room to hear.

Claire was trapped. She couldn’t deny it, because the truth would have come out eventually anyways, she and Owen simply didn’t want to shout it from the rooftops right away, especially given the dynamics of what brought them together in the first place. But she also couldn’t admit it right there, surrounded by a dozen of her employees, who she always treated like peasants, as her seriousness and credibility would forever die with them. So she opted to not change - it was impossible now - but at least _incline_ the subject:

“Where did this thing get out?” She asked, furious. Also because she thought her and Sarah had an agreement.

“Yesterday after work. I bumped into Carl from maintenance.” Lowery explained. “Told me some people had told him Sarah’d had a breakdown the day before. She cried about, well, all that I told you, but I don’t know many details. I just thought it was weird, I mean - no offence if it’s true - that you’d hook up with a guy like that.” He finished, sheepishly.

Claire merely nodded, finding the strength to walk back to the elevator. As the doors were closing, she heard Lowery saying how Sarah was ‘gonna get her ass beaten for talking shit’. Little did he know, it was all true.

She didn’t know what to do. She literally had no idea. She couldn’t fire Sarah, despite the temptation being huge, or she would literally face hell for the rest of her life, not to mention people would immediately start talking. 

She didn’t want to call her, either, since a) She absolutely didn’t want to face her again, and b) Scolding her would have been useless and would have just angered both of them - but Sarah especially - even more.

So, once she reached her office, rolling her eyes at the fact that Zara was late once again, - _Alec I’m gonna cut your balls off_ \- she sat down and called Owen.

He answered after two rings.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” 

The pet name made her all warm on the inside, but _no,_ she needed to focus.

“Owen. There are rumours. Sarah apparently told her colleagues.”

After a detailed description of Lowery’s words, Claire paused, anxious for a reply.

“…Well, fuck. I’m going to talk to her. Don’t worry” The mere thought was making him want to shoot himself in the head, but he would’ve done anything to protect Claire and their relationship. “In the meantime, just.. act normally, okay? We’re good. We’re gonna deal with this, I promise.”

The sound of his voice was so soothing, Claire was almost entirely relieved. “Okay. Thank you.” She breathed out.

“Hey, no worries. I love you.” He reassured.

She swore she died and went to heaven at the words, before quickly replying: “I love you too. Bye.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Owen’s bike roared in the parking lot of the resort.

He killed the engine, hopped off and swung a duffel bag on his shoulder. Once he reached the elevator, he reluctantly pressed the _4_ button, eight floors below Claire’s penthouse.

He waited for what felt forever before the doors finally opened with a _ping!_ And he made a beeline for - he mentally repeated the receptionist’s words - room 4B, taking a huge deep breath before raising his fist to the door.

Sarah opened the door shortly after he knocked, a glimpse of relief ghosted over her features before she noticed the bag.

“I brought you the last things you left ho- at my bungalow.” He stated, lips forming a thin line.

Sarah was slightly puzzled by his seriousness, but she tried to brush it off. “Thank you” she said in a small voice, gently prying the bag from his hands. “Do you want to come in for a sec?” She tried to sound as kind as possible.

“As as matter of fact, yes.” He replied coldly. “I need to talk to you.”

“Great!” She seemed completely oblivious to his anger. “Take a seat! Look, this place is not so bad, bitch gave me one of the best suites!” Sarah continued, her disrespect towards Claire was still a hundred percent there. 

“Okay, now shut the fuck up and listen.” Owen raised his voice a little, not bothering to sit down next to her, taking advantage of a physically superior position.

“I don’t know what got into you, but Claire made it perfectly clear she wanted to do her best to apologize to you. We did you wrong, and we’re sorry. I know, that one’s on us. But you need to understand, Sarah, that acting immaturely and throwing temper tantrums won’t get you anywhere. Claire offered you a new fancy home and a new amazing job, asking you just to keep your mouth shut in return.” He started fuming. “And what did you do? You fucking BLURTED IT ALL OUT!”

“I had a BREAKDOWN, Owen!” Sarah yelled back, with a trembling voice. “Do you remotely know how it feels to spend five years of your life with a person, only to have them crumble down ALL AT ONCE??”

“Don’t pull the victim shit on me, Sarah.” Owen shot back, fists clenching at his sides. “That doesn’t mean you go tell your personal stuff to other park employees, especially if there are other people involved! A close friend, I could understand, but your CO-WORKERS?? Do you have any idea of how goddamn fast information like that travels across this island? Huh? DO YOU??”

“Owen, I-”

“And the director of the whole park is involved!! How the fuck dare you just spit it out like that?” He was furious.

“I LOVE YOU, OWEN!” She desperately tried to stop his rage, tears pooling in her eyes. She apparently was successful, because he stilled for a second, giving her the opportunity to speak. “I didn’t know what to do, I needed to let it out, okay?? But we were about to get MARRIED! You said you loved me just one day before confessing you had gotten our fucking boss pregnant!! How was I supposed to feel??” She let out. “I know what you did was a mistake, and I want you to know I’m willing to forgive you.” She was now crying, grabbing his arm. “You don’t have to think you lost me, you know. You can still let Claire raise the kid or get an abortion, I-”

“A WHAT?” Owen interrupted her. “Sarah, what the fuck? I don’t think I’d made myself clear, then.” His voice softened a bit, he also sat down next to her, but his glare was still cold. “I fell in love with Claire. From the moment I saw her. I tried to tell myself it was just a crush and I was supposed to be with you, but it wasn’t. Hell, I’m fucking thankful I got her pregnant, or I would have gone ahead and married the wrong fucking woman.” He spared no sympathy for Sarah at this point.

“Like I said, the way you had to know about it, even though _you_ were the one to push it, was not the best; but I’m happy with Claire, we’re gonna figure this out together, and you better stay. The fuck. Out of it. Got it?” He said, pointing his finger at her. “You already fucked things up by blurting it all out, and you better not say another goddamn word about this because now you’re out of the picture, and it’s up to me and Claire to clarify the situation for everyone else. Are we fucking clear?” Owen finished, growling.

Sarah timidly nodded through her tears, looking down. 

“I didn’t fucking hear you, Sarah” Owen pushed. “Are. We. Clear.”

“YES.” She replied boldly, looking at him with a mixture of anger and heartbreak. Which he immediately recognized.

“I wouldn’t have been so harsh on you if you hadn’t acted like a crazy bitch all the time, you know. You need to grow the fuck up, _Phillips_.”

And with that, he left a heartbroken Sarah to reminisce his words, closing the door behind him for what he hoped was the last time, then sprinted to the elevator, eager to get to the tenth floor.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Once Claire opened her door for him, he immediately enveloped her in a loving hug, taking in the wonderful vanilla scent of her hair, his eyelids fluttering closed.

Claire giggled a little. “Hey, hello to you too.” She said, voice muffled by his body, gladly reciprocating the gesture and burying her head under his chin.

Owen pulled back just a little and framed her beautiful face with both his hands. “I talked some sense into Sarah. It’s finally over. Hopefully, she won’t bother us ever again.” He breathed out. 

The only thing Claire did then, was raising up on her tippy toes and capturing his lips with hers in a sweet kiss. He wrapped his arm back around her and held her tight, but she had to pull back shortly after, due to uncontrolled sobs of joy.

“I’m so-orry” she sniffled, “damn hormones.”

Owen looked at her in pure admiration, then kissed away her tears, before kneeling down.

Claire was a bit confused for a second, but then he wordlessly lifted her shirt up and started placing sweet kisses on her still rather flat abdomen, caressing her sides with his thumbs.

She smiled and lovingly ran her hands through his hair, enjoying their precious intimate moment, and a second later, tears were back flowing on her cheeks, but she didn’t care. She was just _so happy._  

When Owen stood back up, he pecked her lips one more time, then two, then three, before sighing and breaking their love-dazed spell with a smile.

“So… what’s for dinner?”


	11. Heartbreak Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update guys! Also because I'm not happy at all with this chapter, it's short and shitty but I hope you will accept it!! More coming soon!

_So here's where the problem starts_  
_You're shitting on my heart  
Oh, I could take it again and again and again..._

 

* * *

 

 

Claire paced back and forth in her apartment, rehearsing her lines for the big investors meeting she was about to attend, for the tenth time.

She and Owen had had the weekend pretty much to themselves that week, her work being surprisingly manageable from home, so they could avoid any gossip on the island that could have sprung up in the meantime and he could also calm her nerves - yes, in _that_ way - for the upcoming meeting she had to attend, which had lain almost forgotten due to her latest life-changing news. 

“God, woman, you’re gonna do just fine!” Owen whined from her couch, sipping a beer. “You’ve done it - and nailed it - countless times before. Plus, it’s bad for the baby if you stress too much.”

Claire absentmindedly brought a hand to her abdomen, rubbing the barely three month old embryo through her belly. “Owen, this is nothing like my usual meetings.” She explained, her breathing laboured. “If the park makes a good impression on them, which depends solely on me and my oratory abilities, we will get funds to keep going for at least another six years without an itch. Do you understand?” She stopped in her tracks, staring at him with a helpless look on her face.

Owen sighed, placing his beer bottle on her immaculate coffee table with a _clink_ of glass against glass, and made his way towards her, rubbing her upper arms with both his hands, looking her in the eye with that oh-so reassuring expression on his face.

“Hey. You’re gonna be just fine, trust me. You’re an amazing woman who’s capable of incredible things. You’re gonna crush it!”

Claire merely nodded, before he gently leaned his forehead against hers, making their breathing become synchronized, as hers finally slowed down. After a couple of minutes spent in total comfortable silence, he spoke: “Now go. You don’t wanna be late.” He smirked.

She just shot him a warning look for it was the worst time to tease her, but accepted his advice, giving him a small peck on the lips, before getting her purse and iPad and walking to the door, giving Owen one last look that pleaded him for some last words of encouragement, which he immediately took with a smile.

“You’re Claire fucking Dearing. You own this.” He stated, winking at her in a way that could have melted that fucking iceberg and saved the titanic from sinking.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Getting back to the Masrani headquarters after two days of absence felt strange to Claire. She never missed a day. Something was off this time, though. The moment she entered through the large front glass doors, she started getting weird looks from people.

 

Of course. _Gossip._

 

She tried not to care, and marched through the halls like the boss lady that she was, reassessing her position in seconds. Once she got to her office to sort out some things before the event, though, Zara came rushing to her before she had a chance to even say hello.

“Claire, they know. They all know. Oh God. They’re adding ‘thirsty’ to ‘Ice Queen’ now. And that’s the nicest thing.” Her assistant uttered in a panicked voice.

Claire tried to keep calm. “I think I got that. And I don’t care about the second part. It’s not even their business. Claire Dearing’s got a personal life, shocking. She boned an engaged man, outrageous. Like they know the whole thing behind it. Let them talk, I don’t care.”

Zara looked perplexed to say the least. Was that really Claire speaking? The same Claire whose reputation on the workplace mattered more than anything else in the world?

“What?” Claire inquired, then got a bit scared at the other woman’s terrified expression. “Oh shit, do they know about…” She lowered her voice and casually gestured to her stomach.

“Oh, no no, not about that, not as far as I know” Zara recomposed herself and reassured her boss. 

Claire gave an approving nod. “Good. Now let me nail that meeting.” She said as she walked to her office, her choice of words leaving an even more shocked Zara behind.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The conference was indeed a success. Claire had spoken perfectly, laying out all the points of her pre-made list without any hesitation. The investors were quite pleased, and she only wanted to run to Owen and squeeze him until he couldn’t breathe.

 _What has he done to me,_ she mused with a smile, _every time I had accomplished something before, I had never wanted to celebrate with anyone but myself._

She shook each businessman’s and businesswoman’s hand, took a few pictures to commemorate the event, and chatted animatedly with Zara throughout the whole mini-buffet afterwards. 

A congratulations text from Owen, who had magically found time to use his phone between one raptor show and another, made her even happier, if that was possible.

 

_I knew you could do it, Boss. Love ya. See you tonight ;)_

 

After a solid hour, the guests began to leave, shaking her hand again and thanking her. She still couldn’t believe how successful she had been, and Zara decided to leap forward and hug her, taking part in her joy.

“Claire I am so proud of you” She mumbled against her shoulder. “And you’re beaming. Man, the things Prince Charming has done to you!” She added, giggling and slightly shaking her.

Claire smiled but rolled her eyes. “please, don’t call him ‘prince charming’”

“Oh, so what then? Sexy Raptor Trainer? Hot Indiana Jones?” Zara went on, following her boss back into her office.

“Ugh, just… No nicknames, Zara!”

“Well, how do _you_ call him? And don’t say just Owen because I know it’s not true!” She chirpily pressed.

The redhead kept shuffling papers around on her desk, huffing: “I will _never_ share such information with you, or anyone else, Zara!”

The brunette slumped in one of the guest chairs. “You’re no fun.” She sighed, toying with a pencil she found on the table. “So,” she then added, “When are you going to do about the pregnancy? I mean, you have to tell people, talk to Mr Masrani about it…” Then realization dawned on Zara, making her sit back straight up. “Oh bollocks. You need to tell Masrani!!”

Claire just hit her head against the back of her leather chair and sighed. “I know. But I think he’ll have no problems with it." She smirked, "He _looooves_ me in my position. Wouldn’t trust anyone else to replace me, and neither would I.” 

“Aw I’m sorry, let’s not think about it for now, though, you still have a looong way to go, Boss.” Zara tried to take both their minds off of the issue.

“Sooo” she continued, “You’ve changed.” 

Claire looked up at her assistant, a small smile gracing her features. “Have I?” She asked, her gaze drifting away, but already knowing the answer.

Zara nodded. “ _He_ changed you. For the better, obviously. You’re less… uptight, less worried about having everything under control. You’re chill.”

Claire had to let out a small laugh at that. “It’s true. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me, Zara. He’s the _one_ , I can feel it.” She admitted, turning serious.

The other woman simply brought her hands to her chest, with an awed expression, then reached out to grab both her boss’ hands across the desk. “You’re gonna have to figure everything out though. I mean, the spoiled twat is still on the loose, your dad is going to kill Owen, and I’m not really helping, am I?” She shut herself up, with a tight smile.

“Well, you’re not wrong. But we’ll figure everything out, eventually.”

“Yes. Yes, you will!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Three days later, Claire was walking out of the innovation center, her heels clicking on the stairs outside, heading for her car to go to the gyrosphere valley next, for a random routine check.

Park employees kept looking at her strange, whispering to each other as she walked by, and immediately shutting up the moment she looked over at them. _Obviously._

 

 _Wow, so much drama for some gossip that got out days ago_ , she mused.

 

This time, though, she saw more shocked faces, so the first thing that came to her mind was that she must have had something on her face, of some sorts. She briefly panicked, fearing for the reputation of her immaculate looks, before getting into her car and immediately checking herself in the mirror: nothing wrong. _Then what-_

A text from Zara snapped her out of her paranoia:

 

_Claire, the article about the other day’s meeting has finally come out! I thought you might want to check it out…_

 

Her heart skipped a beat, and her finger swiftly tapped on the link that came with the text.

She scrolled down the words rapidly, rather impressed with how well the article was written, and pleased with herself for the work she’d done. She was so relieved she had almost forgotten about the mini panic attack due to her employees’ looks, when she spotted it. The picture at the bottom of the web page.

No one could have been mistaken. The tight black dress she had worn for the occasion, combined with the angle at which she was positioned for the shot and the lighting, gave it all away.

 

 

 

 

_Oh my god. You’re showing, you idiot! You giant, stupid idiot!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, I did some research and yes, it is possible to be already showing at three months. Stay tuned for more!


	12. Just Give Me A Reason

_Right from the start_  
_You were a thief, you stole my heart_  
 _And I your willing victim_  
 _I let you see the parts of me, that weren't all that pretty  
And with every touch you fixed them_

 

* * *

 

 

“And the tiny spot you see moving there, that’s the baby’s heart beating.”

Dr Moore, Isla Nublar’s only gynaecologist, proudly informed Claire and Owen.

There was a small hospital on the island, for obvious safety reasons, but it was well furnished. All Claire’s appointments and checkups had happened there - as well as other employees’ - as her strict schedule didn’t really allow her to go visit bigger facilities all the way back to the mainland. For this reason, Masrani had required only the best doctors in the world to come work at his park, to ensure the best healthcare for all his employees and visitors.

Dr Moore had always been Claire’s gynaecologist since she started directing the park, as well as a trustworthy woman that she could always lean on for personal advice.

After realizing she was starting to show, Claire - more thanks to Owen’s convincing words - had finally decided to book an appointment to finally see and determine how things were going with their baby.

“Your little one is perfectly healthy, and also pretty strong for being just 13 weeks pregnant, Claire.” The doctor continued, looking at the couple. She was actually the only one to really witness what was going on in Claire’s private life, mentally smiling at the confirmation of all the rumours, that was right in front of her.

At that point, Claire was happily crying, not even trying to hide her emotions, while Owen just held her hand and stroked her hair, also in awe of the tiny black and white image on the screen. The first trimester had passed. They were going strong. They were going to have that baby.

 

After everything had been cleared up and another appointment had been booked, Claire sighed, reluctant to leave the room, which got puzzled stares from both her boyfriend and her doctor.

“It’s just-” she started, “Now everyone’s going to see us leave this office and this building, and they’ll start talking. Like I’m some sort of zoo attraction.” She started crying again, _hormones,_ and added: “I heard some saying they didn’t think it was possible for my cold insides to grow life, and that the child would have been emotionless or whatever.” She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her hand.

“No, honey…” Doctor Moore tried to comfort her; she was a chubby woman in her fifties, with short, black dyed hair, big glasses and round, golden bracelets tinkling from her wrists with her every move. Like a very loving mother figure. She was the only person, besides Owen and Zara, who could tell Claire was not just an Ice Queen.

“You should take pride in this baby.” She continued, holding Claire’s chin high and shaking it a little bit, as if she wanted to shake her bad thoughts out of her head, too.

“You will be a great mama and show all those _peasants_ what an amazing, loving young lady you can be, yet ruthless to those who do you wrong. All those voices must only spur you on to be proud of showing that you can run a place like this AND bring a new life into the world. Claire Dearing is REALLY capable of everything. Understood?” She concluded, holding Claire’s upper arms in a firm grip.

Claire smiled at her words and nodded, biting her lip, then looked at a stunned Owen, whose impressed expression made her let out a small giggle.

“Woah, those are some great comforting words, doc” He said, lifting his eyebrows. “Can I call you next time she complains?- OW!”

Claire swatted his chest with the back of her hand, which only made him smile, though.

“Oh, I’m sure your presence will always be enough to comfort her, Mr Grady” the physician replied kindly, “The way she relaxes by just looking at you is incredible”

At her words, Claire couldn’t help turning to Owen and burying herself in his chest for a hug. “It’s true, you know” she admitted, holding him tight while he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

“Now go!” Dr Moore jokingly kicked them out of the room, “go shout your love from the rooftops, you deserve to be happy! You’re such a cute pair! But I have patients waiting outside!"

 

* * *

 

 

 

Claire and Owen felt comfortable walking together on the streets of Jurassic World for the first time ever. She was already dressed up for work - _business doesn’t care about doctor’s appointments -_ and he was gently leading her to her office building, hand resting on the small of her back, before he would make his own way to the raptor enclosure.

“Want me to walk you up to your office?” He asked, once they had reached the main entrance. He tried to sound casual and hide the actual concern he had for Claire being harassed by judging looks and whispers.

“I’m fine, Owen” she replied with a slight eye roll, immediately sensing his worry. “I own the place, remember?” She repeated his words from every time he had tried to comfort her, looking up at him with a smile.

“Right. You rock. Don’t get too stressed, though, okay? That’s-“

“Bad for the baby” she finished for him with a now bigger roll of her eyes. “I know, daddy. Don’t worry” And with that, she pecked him on the lips and turned on her heels, making her way through the glass doors and earning some stares from the few people around them. But she just didn’t care anymore.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Owen arrived at the enclosure just in time for the first show of the day, and once he got off his bike, he immediately felt like he was walking a red carpet.

“Man!!!” Barry came walking fast towards him, “Congratulations!! So it’s true, huh? You knocked up the boss and ditched Sarah! No offense, but I’m relieved. She was a big bitch.” He said, patting Owen on the back.

“Yeah” Was all Owen came up with at the moment, a slight grin forming on his face. Information really traveled at the speed of light on that island.

“Are you happy?” Barry asked, looking him in the eye, more seriously this time, as he honestly cared for his friend’s wellbeing.

Owen put his hands in his pockets and squinted his eyes at the strong sunlight hitting his face. “Yeah. Yeah, I am. Very much. She’s the one, you know? I just felt it. Pregnant or not.” He confessed.

“Aw, man, you hit the jackpot.” Barry laughed, genuinely happy for him. “The park manager. I mean. That’s a big ass work advantage, too!”

“Well” Owen explained, “we actually want to keep our professional and personal lives separated. It wouldn’t be fair if my attraction got all the good…opportunities and stuff, y’know? Plus, she made it perfectly clear she’s not gonna give me any extra points or salary, for the matter” He admitted with a jokingly disappointed face.

The French man just laughed again and dragged him to the enclosure. “That’s great, buddy, but you’re hella late. Move yo lovesick ass!” He called after him as Owen walked to the small office, grinning.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Claire went happily home early that day, enjoying the late afternoon on her couch, something she had never had the pleasure of doing since she came to Isla Nublar.

After what felt like an eternity just lying there and absentmindedly rubbing her tiny baby bump, she made up her mind and pressed the ‘call’ button next to the familiar contact on her phone.

She heard her sister’s voice just after three rings.

“Hello? Claire?”

“Karen. Hi.” She started, her voice rather small.

“Wow. Why are you calling me? And at this hour? Aren’t you at work?”

“No, I could leave early today. Weird, huh?” Claire smiled a little, toying with the hem of her shirt. Then she continued. “I, uhh… I have to tell you something.”

Karen didn’t even let her finish before she started assuming things. “Oh God, have you resigned? That’s why you’re home, isn't it? Did something happen at the park??”

“Karen, stop. I did not resign. And nothing happened. Well, something did, but not like you’d think. I mean-”

“Claire?” Karen insisted. “You’re giving me anxiety. Just tell me. Is it bad?”

“NO!” Claire exclaimed promptly, “N-no, it’s not… It’s not _bad,_ it’s just, I’m just- ugh. I’m…pregnant” She almost whispered the last words.

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line. 

“Karen…?”

“Wha- Did I hear you say _pregnant_?? Is this a joke, Claire??”

“It’s most definitely NOT a joke, Karen” Claire was getting more and more nervous at her sister’s unbelief, which, mixed with hormones, was getting her to the edge of tears.

The squeal that she heard then, was almost deafening.

“OH MY GOD!!! Oh my god. OH MY GOD, CLAIRE???!!!”

“Karen, could you just-”

“How did it happen??? I didn’t know you were together with anyone!!! You need to tell me that stuff, you know??”

“No, Karen, it’s… not what you think.”

After Claire told her all the details of the story, the big sister just sighed.

“Claire-bear… I’m happy for you but… what you did was just plain wrong, you know that?

Claire was sniffling at this point. “I know, no need to rub it in, you know?”

“Aww.. don’t cry, baby sister… I wish I could hug you tight right now. But you know mom and dad, _especially_ dad, won’t be really pleased with this, right?”

Their parents were not really conservative, but deeply cared about their daughters finding someone to settle down with before starting a family. It was one thing they had made their daughters promise them. _Don’t give yourself away too easily, girls. And don’t get involved in messy relationships._

“I know. But trust me, I really love Owen, and I-”

“I believe you, Claire, I do. It’s just gonna be hard to explain to mom and dad, alright? Narrow minds, remember?”

Claire sighed. “Yes.”

“Now. Who will take your place as manager? Will you move back to America to settle down?” Karen asked, excitedly.

“What? No!” Claire said, indignant. “I love my job. I’m not giving it up?!”

“Claire! How do you expect to raise a kid with that awfully stressful job of yours?? How do you think you’ll be able to spend time with him or her, if you’re constantly busy?? Huh??”

“Karen, don’t worry, I’ll make it. I-”

“God, what do you love more, your job or your baby?? Because I have a feeling it’s the former.”

Claire was taken aback by her sister’s bluntness. “KAREN!! How dare you?” Great, she was crying again. Because maybe, _maybe_  Karen was right. She wouldn’t have been able to handle both.

“No, Claire, you listen to me. I don’t want to know you have a kid, only to leave them with other people ALL DAY and never spending quality time with them. It’s the baby or the job. If you’re planning on being a full time working mom, then I suggest you give the baby up for adoption and spare that child a motherless life!!”

“KAREN STOP!” Claire was officially sobbing. “I won’t mess this up. I hate you for making me feel this way! And don’t you dare tell a word to mom and dad.” She hissed, and with that, she hung up, tossed the phone on the furthest end of the couch and curled herself up in a ball, crying her eyes out.

After a few minutes, she sprinted out of the door and to her car.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Claire arrived at the raptor’s enclosure just as the last show of the day was ending, and once she spotted Owen walking down the steps, she got out of her car, slamming the door and running straight into his chest.

Owen was taken aback, the mighty force of a body slamming into his, almost knocking him down. It took him milliseconds to realize it was Claire, clad in sweatpants and a loose shirt, so he immediately hugged her back and tried to lift her face so he could look at her; although, from her loud sobs, he could easily understand what her expression was going to be.

“Hey, hey, baby, what’s happening?” He asked, opting for just putting his chin on her head and rubbing her back. They were getting all kinds of looks from Owen’s colleagues but he didn’t care. If Claire was like this in public, it meant something very bad was going on.

“It’s my sister” She managed to utter between sobs, “She says I have to give up my job if I want- if I want to keep the baby”

Owen’s arms tightened around her. “Oh, no, sweetheart, that’s not happening. We’ll figure it out, okay? I’m never leaving you, that’s for sure.” He reassured her, dropping a few kisses on her - now slightly longer - hair.

Claire simply nodded into his chest, still crying. She needed his presence and his words like oxygen at the moment.

“Plus, let’s speak with Masrani, alright? I’m sure he would totally do anything in his power to keep you here and make sure you can also be a mom. That’s certain.”

Claire looked up at him and he gently wiped her tears. “Okay.” She whispered, and he pressed his lips to her forehead.

“Do you want to wait for me in the car while I go change and get everything into place for closing time?” He asked her, holding her face in his hands.

Claire just nodded, slowly prying herself away from him and making her way to her car as Owen sweetly smiled at her. 

 

_What did I do to deserve him?_


	13. Chaos & Piss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, chapter 13! We are about to reach the end of this story, because I always roughly planned it chapter by chapter and I just recently finished the job, with chapter 16, apparently! So not many more to go, people!
> 
> Oh, and GUESS who's back in this chappy? mwahahaha

_I don't feel like calming down, no I don't_   
_I don't feel like hiding out, so I won't_

 

* * *

 

 

“Thanks Claire” Zara said as she entered her boss’ office like a hurricane, carrying the usual stack of paperwork to deposit at her desk; “You perfectly reminded me not to get pregnant anytime soon. Between almost killing five employees this last week and being the favourite topic of any fucking conversation, you made my point clear, girl. Getting an IUD tomorrow.”

Claire took some time to process Zara’s words and then just rolled her eyes. “Good for you.” She mumbled, sipping on her Starbucks cup.

“You got coffee by yourself??” Zara yelled. “Wow, you’re capable of many things when you actually want them!”

“NEED them.” Claire corrected. "And I don’t care if you refuse to bring me coffee because ‘it’s bahd fo’ the baybeh’” she said, mocking her assistant’s voice, which got her an annoyed look. “One per day is harmless. And I desperately need it in the morning.” She concluded, taking another sip.

“Okay” Zara breathed out as she rid herself of the weight of the papers, “But don’t you dare complain when you have to go pee four times during a 30min meeting.”

“Sure, sure.” Claire waved her off, clearly engrossed with her work.

A few minutes after Zara left, Claire took a deep breath and picked up her desk phone.

“Hello? Mr Masrani, it’s Claire. I- yes, um… I was wondering if I could talk to you about some personal… arrangements. As soon as you can. Although, it’s not extremely urgent. Just, if you had some free time today, we could maybe have a Skype call, if that’s alright?” 

She couldn’t believe she was almost stuttering. Clearly, pregnancy hormones were making her more nervous than ever, especially in situations like this.

Her employer’s affirmative response was a huge relief. “4:00PM this afternoon. Video call with Masrani” Claire told Zara via intercom.

“You got it!” Her assistant’s reply was a bit odd, but since finding out about her pregnancy, Zara had always been more cheerful and somewhat protective towards Claire, who honestly didn’t mind at all.

 

* * *

 

At four in the afternoon, Claire was ready in front of her computer screen, trying to breathe normally.

As soon as the call request from her boss popped up, she clicked it at the speed of light, the habit of fake smiling right after said action coming right back.

“Mr Masrani. Hello.”

“Hello Claire! How can I help you?”

His cheerful voice was somewhat soothing, reminding her of how much the man loved her and trusted her in her position.

“Umm” She began fidgeting with her hands in her lap, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Simon chuckled. “That I had figured, Miss Dearing!”

That certainly didn’t help Claire’s nervousness. “Umm, yes, of course. You see…Well, let’s just get straight to the point. I…uh.. got pregnant. Accidentally.” _Accidentally?? Why did I need to point that out?_ She wanted to disappear right there and then.

“Oh… wow.” He paused to take in the news. “Well… congratulations..?” Masrani didn’t exactly know how to react, either.

“Well the thing is… I want to keep working for as long as I can. Even after the baby is born. I know it’s a stressful job, but Mr Masrani, this is my life. I already love my child with all my heart, but I don’t want to lose my position. I don’t want to be replaced. So I wanted to know If we could arrange… something, to… to let me be a functional mother and manager at the same time. Like a nursery, maybe?”

Simon was quite taken aback, but still smiled and showed a calm attitude. “Claire, I thought you had to tell me you wanted to resign, you scared me!” He let out a small laugh, mirrored by Claire’s nervous one.

He then turned serious. “Of course I want to keep you in your position! I would do anything to ensure you stayed there. We’ll start by having a nursery, then eventually turn it into daycare, and you will be able to work until the end of your pregnancy, Claire. I’ll raise Zara’s salary and make her go out on the island on your behalf, so you can stay in the office during your last trimester. In the first weeks after birth, I will personally manage the park so you can rest, and as soon as you’re ready to get back to work, I’ll hire as many nannies as you want to help you take care of your baby while you work, right in your office.”

His perfect speech sounded like he’d had it ready for years, as if he had been waiting for that moment to come, but Claire, albeit surprised, didn’t mind and certainly didn’t bother questioning it.

“Oh and in the future, you can keep the kid in daycare, once they’re big enough to stay a few hours without mommy” He added with a kind smile.

“Wow…” Claire was speechless, but couldn’t hide her joy. “Thank, you sir. I mean it. Thank you SO MUCH.”

Masrani smiled and leaned back into his chair of his San Diego office. “Oh and Claire?”

“Yes?” She quickly refocused on him and straightened in her chair.

“May I ask if the father of the baby is going to be around, too? He could be of great help as well. But since you said it was accidental, I wouldn’t want to-”

“Yes, yes, of course” Claire interrupted him, “He… lives on the island. But we already talked about him eventually moving into my apartment and keeping his current home as an… occasional relaxing escape, maybe on the weekends or so. But he… I mean, we are together. Despite not having planned our baby.” She warmly smiled, rubbing her belly.

“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Masrani replied, deciding he would figure out the identity of the father later on. “Now, if you don’t have anything else to add, I shall go, Claire.”

“Oh, no, that was all. And thank you again for your kindness, Mr Masrani. You kept my job safe. I’ll forever be grateful for it.” Claire concluded, beaming.

“It’s my pleasure.” Simon stated, before tending the video call.

Claire was jumping, and immediately buzzed the intercom, startling a busy Zara by yelling “I GOT TO KEEP THE JOB, ZARA!!!! I WILL KEEP MY JOB!!!” Into the mic.

_Take that, Karen._

 

 

* * *

 

Once she told the good news to Owen that night at her home, he immediately picked her up and spun her around, peppering kisses all over her face and muttering a series of “told ya”s several times.

A couple of hours later, laying in bed in a _wonderful_ aftersex haze, Owen stiffened a bit.

“What’s that?” Claire mumbled lazily from his side. “I can hear the gears turning.” She chuckled as she brought up her right hand and delicately traced her fingers along his stubbled jaw.

“Do you ever think about what we’re gonna name the baby?” Owen blurted out.

Claire was slightly taken aback, her hand stopping to rest down on his shoulder. She sighed. “It has crossed my mind sometimes, but I think we still have time. Don’t you?” She shuffled a bit to look up at him, and his right arm began lazily rubbing hers up and down.

“Yeah, but…” He trailed off. Her lack of response spurred him on, though. “I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to start throwing a couple of ideas here and there…”

Claire brought her hand back up to his jaw and smiled at him. “I get that you have some… ideas already, hm?” She let out a small, adoring, chuckle. “Tell me.” She said in a whisper, closing her eyes while keeping on caressing his face.

“I liked Dylan for a boy. Or Ryan. Something kind of dynamic, y’know…” He tried to explain.

“Mm. I like those.” Claire replied, sweetly. “Too bad they won’t apply.”

Owen suddenly shuffled and turned towards her, eyes open wide. “What do you mean??”

Claire shrugged. “Because it’s gonna be a girl. I feel it.” She gave him a satisfied grin, at which Owen just had to lean in and kiss her beautiful lips, a smile on his own face as well.

“Mm… If that’s what mama says…” He replied in a low voice, which made Claire’s entire body shiver, wrapping her in a tight hug and nuzzling her neck. 

After a little while of just contently laying still like that, Owen added: “But do you actually want to know the sex of the baby once it’s possible?”

“Not really. I’d like it to be a surprise.” Claire whispered, sleep beginning to overtake them both.

“Mm. Me too.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The following week, Claire left Owen’s bungalow at seven in the morning, legs still wobbly after infinite rounds of amazing sex the night before and that same morning.

She hopped into her car and inhaled deeply, checking her itinerary for the day. What she saw scheduled at 10:00AM almost made her sick.

_10:00AM - Checkup on Apatosauruses enclosure with ACU representatives and Herbivores Management. (Sorry boss! -Z)_

Claire banged her head against her car seat and groaned.

_Keep it professional, keep it professional…_

To hell keeping it professional. As soon as she reached her apartment to get presentable for the day, Claire raided her closet until she found the most adherent dress she had. A casual but professional short sleeved, dark blue number, so tight she almost couldn’t walk - which was actually a relief, so she could blame her sex-induced movements on the skirt - but she _loved it._ A devilish grin appeared on her face in the mirror, as her chosen outfit highlighted everything she wanted, perfectly.

_Back off, bitch. I’m coming for you._

 

 

As soon as she stepped out of her car, clipboard in hand, she was happy to be able to make her hair swoosh from her face to behind her back with a single head movement, as it now was reaching a little past her shoulders, bangs pulled aside, too. She put on a stern face and walked towards the entrance of the small office near the enclosure.

Sarah had never wanted a place in the Masrani headquarters, for she still wanted to work close to the animals; her new office was a small but professional looking little four-walled building, with a small set of stairs outside and a nice environment inside. 

Claire took a deep breath before entering it, but at least she was relieved to see the ACU vehicles already parked outside, which meant she wouldn’t be facing Sarah alone. 

As she opened the door - politely knocking was NOT an option - she was surprised to find the place empty. Still, she was at least ten minutes early and well, who wouldn’t wait for the park manager before starting a checkup? _Only that bitch._

She stormed outside, ready to finally shoot an ultimatum, when she was met by Sarah and the ACU team, walking and chatting peacefully. The brunette froze for a bit when she spotted Claire, who, though, didn’t give her time to formulate a sentence, as she immediately questioned her moves.

“Miss Phillips. I thought our meeting was scheduled for 10:00AM. Is there something I am missing?” Her tone cold as ice.

The men looked scared. Sarah just scanned her up and down, gulping evidently, which caused Claire to internally jump at the success of her outfit choice, so she decided to _absentmindedly_ bring a hand to her baby bump, rubbing it gently, just to fire her killing shot. 

_Score._

Sarah’s breathing sped up, as she stuttered a bit. “N-no. I was giving the new recruits a small tour of the area. That’s all. I- I didn’t think you would arrive this early. We were making our way back just now.”

Claire’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm. Good.” She slowly descended the steps with grace and power, mindful of her precious cargo - still protected by her hand - yet holding her chin up and making sure every click of her high heels was heard, as the people before her stood in silence.

The checkup went flawlessly. No bitchy remarks from Sarah, nor unexpected issues with asset containment. Claire was over the moon. Internally, that is.

Once the meeting was over, as ACU drove away, though, Claire had to enter Sarah’s office to sign some reports. It was a moment she would have dreaded, if she hadn’t been so satisfied and confident with how things had gone.

Sarah sat down in silence as she stoically handed her boss the papers, sliding them across her desk.

Claire, again, graciously sat down in one of the chairs and scribbled away. She then got up and, before leaving, she pulled a tight smile and politely concluded:

“That’s all, isn’t it? I’m glad everything went without complications. See you in six months.”

And with that, she turned on her heels towards the door, but Sarah scoffed, making her stop in her tracks. Claire narrowed her eyes and swiftly turned around. “What’s that?”

“Nothing.” Sarah replied quickly, looking away. “I just find the ‘without complications’ part kind of ironic” she stated, turning her cold gaze back at Claire.

Claire wasn’t taking another one. She simply fake smiled, cocked her head to the side and said, “Oh, do you? I’m sorry. Better luck next time”. Okay, maybe now she was being mean, but she enjoyed it.

The mixture of pure anger, disgust, sadness, and lack of a proper comeback, made Sarah lose it. She literally picked up her computer screen and tossed it to the ground, with an ear-piercing shriek. 

Claire was shocked, watching her employee’s rage unleash on the poor items displayed on her desk, paper flying everywhere and loud noises filling the room. Her eyes widened when Sarah picked up a sharp paper cutter, both her hands coming to rest protectively over her bump.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when the enraged woman threw the object to the wall beside her.

“ARE YOU ENJOYING THIS, THIRSTY BITCH? YOU THINK THIS POSITION AND FANCY PAY CHECKS WILL KISS IT AND MAKE IT BETTER??? GET OUT!!!” Sarah screamed, before sliding down the wall, breathing heavily and putting her head in her hands. Claire made sure the breakdown had ended before calmly adding: “Sarah. Life happens. I hope you’ll find your own happiness, like I found mine. I-”

“You found yours by taking mine away from me” Sarah growled, but the tears in her eyes made her tone non-threatening.

“True. I already apologized, more than once, and I won’t take on this discussion again. You weren’t meant to be. Accept it and move on.” She looked at Sarah with a mixture of anger and pity. The young girl was truly devastated. Claire sighed. “I’ll call my technician to come and replace your computer screen as soon as possible, alright?”

Sarah didn’t reply, just kept sobbing quietly, head between her knees, on the floor. Pregnancy hormones made Claire consider the possibility of offering her more help cleaning her mess, but _hell, no._ _She made it, she solves it._

She then turned around and left without a word, leaving a distressed Sarah contemplating her boss’ words. 


	14. What About Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok we're approaching the end of the story, but don't worry, drama's totally not over! But I felt like giving you a little insight into Claire's family, so this chapter leaves Isla Nublar out of the picture just for a moment. Enjoy!

_I don't want control, I want to let go_   
_(Are you ready? I'll be ready)  
'Cause now it's time to let them know!_

 

* * *

 

 

Three months later, Claire was growing a nice, round baby bump. Everyone at the park still couldn’t quite believe their Ice Queen boss had now softened a bit and her once steady, business walk, had now become a bit of a wobble.

Her hair had grown quite a lot, reaching well between her shoulder blades, the bangs were gone and it also had a nice, natural wavy look. Whatever her body was producing in that period, was making all of her glow. Her eyes, her freckles, her hair. She just looked more human to her employees, more natural and less sophisticated. She didn’t mind. Her instincts told her it was a good thing.

Owen, too, thought it was a good thing. The man was falling every day more in love with Claire. He had now officially moved in to her apartment, and they were setting up one of the spare rooms for their future kid. They didn’t know the sex yet, so - on Claire’s perfectly planned idea - they had it painted a pastel mint green, already decorated with dino plushies, especially the stuffed versions of all four of Owen’s raptors, which were lying in the little white crib, patiently waiting for their own little Alpha.

Every night before bed, Claire would go to the baby’s room and just stand by the door to take in their future. Everything in there conveyed purity and innocence, far away from the business and hard work that were going on just feet below it.

Both Claire and Owen were thrilled to become parents by now. Sometimes they would just fall asleep cuddling each other, Owen always performing the ritual of talking and then saying goodnight to her belly as well. Everything just felt more relaxed.

 

Until Christmas time.

 

Claire’s phone pinged with a text while they were peacefully eating dinner and watching a movie on the couch on a warm, costa rican November night.

_Hello Claire-Bear! How would you feel about spending Christmas Day with us in Madison? I know you’re always busy, but I’m just asking for one day. We all miss you. Plus, Karen says you apparently have some news! It would be perfect to tell us all together, if you’d like. Let me know, sweetheart._

_Love you,_

_Mom_

Claire almost fainted. “Crap! My parents! How could I forget about my parents?” She panicked.

Owen was used to her anxiety over the slightest inconvenience by now, so he fought an eye roll and hugged her, which always managed to calm her nerves, although this time, her breathing was still laboured.

“I- Oh god. They’re gonna kill me, also for not telling them sooner. How can I just show up at my old house looking like a cow, with a stranger by my side??” Her mind was racing.

“Claire, we’ll figure it ou-”

“NO! Owen, this is a big deal. My parents are kind of narrow minded, they wanted me to find a nice guy, get THEIR approval first, and THEN settle down. That’s the only request they asked me to follow. What am I supposed to say now?? ‘Hi mom, dad, this is Owen, he got me pregnant by accident so now he’s with me. Oh, and I ended his engagement with it, too’??? They are going to KILL me.”

Owen had to chuckle. “Come on, we’ll make it. First, it’s better late than never, and second, it’s not like you can hide it forever.” He pointed out.

Claire nodded. “But I can’t just shock them like that. They need to know I’m not coming alone, at least. And I can’t tell them about the pregnancy just now. I can’t tell my _parents_ on the _phone_.” She looked at him, helplessly.

“You’re right.” He agreed. “Here’s what you’re gonna do, then. You’re gonna call your mom, ask her if you can bring someone, and if she wonders if that’s your big news, just tell her yes. She’ll understand why you couldn’t just blurt out a pregnancy over the phone, once she finds out. I mean, come on.” He smiled at her, stroking her hair. 

Claire nodded again, a hand coming to rest on top of his on her bump. She grabbed her phone and called her mother.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Their flight was scheduled to land in Madison at 7:00PM on Christmas Eve; they would take a cab to her parents’ house and tell them everything over dinner. They would sleep there - Claire’s childhood house was pretty big - and spend Christmas Day with all of Claire’s family - sister, brother in law and nephews - before leaving on the morning of the 26th. Managing a park didn’t care about Christmas holidays, after all.

Once they stepped out of the cab, the chilly air of Wisconsin they totally weren’t used to anymore, combined with the anxiety of the upcoming moment, gave both Claire and Owen chills. 

They exchanged a sweet and encouraging look before Owen grabbed Claire’s hand and they made their way to the porch. Even ringing the doorbell seemed like an impossible task. Claire made sure her oversized winter jacked covered her baby bump well, both to keep it warm and to avoid it being too obvious at first sight.

She took a deep breath, looked at her boyfriend one last time and finally brought her finger to the small button on the wall. The sound of the bell could be heard from outside too, which only proved once again that the little “adventure” was about to start.

A sandy blonde woman in her late fifties - although she looked a bit younger, being quite wealthy and taking good care of herself - appeared at the door.

“AAAAAHH!!! My baby!!!” She moved to hug Claire, who tried to dodge her because she would have _certainly_ felt something between them, but luckily, her attention was quickly caught by Owen’s presence, so she limited her gesture to grabbing her daughter’s cheeks and kissing her forehead, before turning to the young man.

“Well, hello there. You must be Claire’s… new… friend.” The woman said, lifting her eyebrows, at which Claire had to facepalm.

“Hello, Mrs Dearing. I’m Owen. Owen Grady.” He said, shaking her hand, his natural charm coming through. She giggled.

“Call me Jen. I’m Claire’s mom, as you must’ve figured. But please, come in! You don’t want to freeze out here!”

The house looked even bigger on the inside. A spacious living area on the right, with a long dining table on the far end of the room, a kitchen and smaller table on the left and large stairs in the middle were the first things that you could see from their position.

As soon as Jen closed the door behind them, a tall, stoic-looking, silver-haired man stepped in from the hallway between the stairs and the living room. 

The older woman wasted no time to introduce him to Owen. “This is Rob, my husband. Rob, this is Owen.”

The two men shared a tight handshake, before, much like his wife, Rob walked up to Claire and planted a loving kiss on her red hair. “You look more beautiful than ever, baby girl.” He said, stroking her cheeks and looking at her with pure love in his eyes, like she was the most precious thing he had. A much different look than the stern one he gave Owen.

“Please, let me take your coats, darlings!” Jen offered. Owen smiled and started unzipping his jacket nonchalantly, before looking over at Claire and _Oh, yeah, right._

Claire’s expression suddenly turned serious and a worried, as she instead further hugged her middle.

“Claire, honey, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Do you feel sick?” Her mother quickly picked up her uneasiness.

“No, I’m okay” Claire replied in a soft voice. “It’s just…” She briefly glanced at Owen, who nodded and smiled at her, which spurred her on. She started unwrapping her scarf. “The thing is… I’m not just… together… with Owen, now.” She smiled at him, and went to unzip her jacket. She opened her mouth to finally announce the _big_ news, but her now exposed middle let it all out before she could. Her mother gasped audibly, bringing her hands over her mouth.

Claire didn’t mind her reaction at all, so her smile became broader as she finally shrugged the jacket off her shoulders, revealing a simple loosely knitted gray sweater shaping her six months old bump perfectly. Her gaze switched to her father, expectantly. Unlike his wife’s, though, Rob’s expression was rather unreadable. There was surprise, undoubtedly, but his face remained serious.

Claire’s smile faltered. All three heads turned to her dad. Her mother spoke first, breaking the slight awkwardness. “Wow. This was…Unexpected, to say the least! Claire, oh my god!” She didn’t know what to do, so she just went to hug her daughter, a few tears pooling in her hazel eyes, then stroking the bump lightly after she pulled back. Claire watched her mother’s actions lovingly, as did Owen, because Rob’s gaze on him was burning.

“Claire” the older man finally spoke, “That’s… great. Although, I must say, I would have never expected this from you.”

Claire didn’t know how to feel. “Well…” She started, “I understand. I would have never expected to have kids, either.” She breathed out. She had to tell them, one way or another. “You see, it wasn’t exactly… planned. But it happened. And we are happy.” She exchanged a sweet look with Owen, who moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her middle, both for support and to make his intentions clear to her father.

Jen kept smiling, her hands clasped together in front of her, while Rob kept staring at Owen. “So” He asked the younger man, “How did you… _charm…_ my daughter? I know she’s a tough one. Forgetting any precaution and getting accidentally pregnant is totally not her style. She lives for her job.”

“Dad!” Claire started to protest, but before anyone had the chance to add anything, Jen intervened.

“Hey, how about we talk about such big news over a cup of tea? I just made some.” And without waiting for either of them to react, she pulled them all to seat around the smaller dining table in the kitchen.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay. Let me explain. I’ll be completely transparent with you.” Owen started, once they were all sat. Claire gave him an encouraging look that also said ‘thank you for taking this’ and held his hand on the table.

“I’m a raptor trainer at Jurassic World.” Before he could go on, Rob already interrupted him.

“You work for my daughter?”

Owen raised his eyebrows. “Yyyes?”

The older man just pursed his lips and shot a disapproving look to the table. “Go on.”

“O-okay. Well, you see, actually” Owen breathed deeply. “I was not yet an employee of Jurassic World when I first met Claire. I was involved in a raptor training project founded by another company. Once we got the approval to turn it into a show for the public, Masrani global took us under their wing.” He explained with a slight smile. Claire squeezed his hand.

“Get to the point, boy! You got my baby girl pregnant, for Christ’s sake!” Rob was losing his patience.

“Dad!!” Claire’s eyes shot daggers at him.

“Robert! Don’t be rude! Let him explain!” Jen gasped, swatting her husband on the arm. “I’m sorry. Go on, dear.” She politely said. Owen’s alpha status had disappeared in front of that man, but he liked Jen, she was not entirely ecstatic with some aspects of their situation but she was still happy for them. On the other hand, he could tell Rob was disappointed in their behavior, and very protective of Claire. 

“Um, well, I was engaged at the time.” Owen ignored the praise to god uttered by Rob at those words. “But I met Claire, and I immediately knew I felt something…for her.” He and Claire exchanged sweet looks for a second, before he continued. “The feeling was apparently…mutual, and…well… we are not really proud of what we did afterwards. But the spark was there. When I found out she was pregnant, I had no doubts. I left my fiancée and started my life with Claire. I love your daughter. I really do.”

By that time, Claire was crying. “I love you too” she whispered, leaning her head on his arm and stroking his bicep with her free hand. She usually hated PDAs, especially in front of her parents. But she found out her love for Owen was apparently greater than all of that.

Jen managed a tight-lipped smile, turning to Claire. “So… He was about to get married… and yet you kept… sleeping together..?” She was on the verge of tears. Neither she nor her husband could have expected such careless behavior from their usually self-controlled younger daughter.

“Not really.” Claire replied. “We had decided to call it off… Because it was wrong. Even if it felt right. But, well, things had already happened…underneath the surface.” She slightly grimaced at her own words.

Rob couldn’t hold it in. “Oh, so you were about to settle down and get married” He pointed an accusing finger at Owen, “But couldn’t keep it in your pants around my daughter and now you’re stuck together because of that? Unbelievable. Claire, I would have never thought you were like that. Losing control so easily.” He spat, almost echoing the words of Sarah from _that_ night.

Owen opened his mouth to explain, but Claire was faster. “DAD! I did not lose control. Well… Maybe a little, but that’s the whole point! He made me lose control, because he made me love him. He’s the man I want, and yes, the circumstances may tell otherwise, but that’s true. I’m glad I got pregnant, though, because he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life, marrying that girl. And I was letting him.” Her voice broke, and she started crying again.

“Oh yeah.” Rob said. “That’s why you waited…this long, to tell your parents you were expecting your first child!! You literally had to get a written invitation, Claire!”

“It’s six months.” Claire specified, tears staining her flushed cheeks. “And I’m sorry, if that’s what you want to hear from me. I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment for finding love after having worked my ass off for years.” She made a move to get up, but her mother interrupted her.

“Honey, you’re not a disappointment. It’s just… You could have told us. Sooner.”

“Well, I’m sorry I didn’t. I can’t really go back in time, can I?” And with that, she grabbed Owen’s arm to pull him out of his chair and drag him to her old bedroom. He just shot the older couple an apologizing look and followed Claire.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Jen watched from the narrow crack of Claire’s bedroom door as her daughter was lying in bed, her head on Owen’s chest and both their hands resting on her enlarged stomach. She had puffy red eyes and he was delicately stroking her hair.

The older woman brought her hand up and lightly knocked on the door, careful not to startle the couple, and peeked inside.

“Hey. I already scolded Rob. He can be SO rude sometimes. I’m deeply sorry.” She whispered, forcing a smile. “So umm… If you want, dinner will be ready in thirty. If you don’t feel like coming down I will bring it to you here. You must be starving from your trip.”

Owen looked at her with a thankful smile, while Claire kept a serious pout and merely nodded against his chest.

“Thank you, Mrs Dearing. We’ll be right there.” Owen felt bold enough to make a decision for both him and Claire, knowing, deep down, that she didn’t want to stay in bed either, as it would have only made things worse.

Jen gave them one last loving look and left.

Dinner went alright. Not a cheerful chit-chat, but not a tension-filled moment, either. Owen and Jen were the ones who spoke the most, sharing information about Jurassic World and Claire’s family, also on behalf of their respective partners.

Soon, Rob tried to join, and he was rather welcome by Owen, who was more than ready to prove himself worthy of Claire. Claire started actively speaking only after dessert was served, which elevated her mood instantly. The topic then shifted to her weird food cravings, and the whole family shared a laugh.

Christmas Day went well, too. Owen got to meet Karen and her family, the woman interrogating him much like her father had done the previous day, but the occasional approving gazes she shot at Claire made it much more comfortable.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Claire wasn’t really a Christmas person, but seeing her family getting close with the man she loved, and receiving attention and love for her baby bump, especially by an awestruck Gray, made her reconsider her opinion on the festivity - and her family.

“We should come visit your family more often. They seem pretty nice, after all.” Owen said the morning after, while waiting to board the plane. 

“Yeah, sorry about my dad, Owen, I-” Claire apologized, but he brought a finger to her lips, shushing her.

“Your father was just being protective. Okay, he’s intimidating as fuck, but I can’t blame him. I _did_ get you pregnant by accident, and while engaged to another woman. I could just imagine if my daughter came home with such news. My son in law would be dead in a second.” He chuckled.

“Oh, so you give in to my feeling and admit we’re gonna have a daughter, hmm?” Claire looked up at him with a smug smile.

“Uh-uh. It was a hypothetical situation, honey.” Owen corrected her.

Claire kissed him on the cheek. “Mmh. We’ll see.”

Owen grabbed her chin delicately and brought his lips to her. “God, I love you.” He murmured against her mouth.

“I love you too.”


	15. Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, just one more chapter to finish! I can't believe it's already over!! Oh, and there's a minor hint of spoiler for Evolution of Claire in this, but nothing too revealing :) I also wanted to dedicate this chapter to my fellow Italian Lucrezia, who found me on twitter last night (not too hard, I have the same username as here hahaha) and started praising this fic, I was sooo flattered! Grazie Lu per tutto l'incoraggiamento che mi hai dato! Mi hai proprio invogliata a scrivere di più! Un bacione xx

_You beat me, betray me_  
_You're losing, we're winning_  
_My spirit above me_  
 _You cannot deny me_  
 _My freedom is burning_  
 _This broken world keeps turning_  
 _I'll never surrender_  
 _There's nothing, but a victory!_

 

* * *

 

_Sarah giggled as her and Owen swiftly walked out of his soon to be office in the new raptor show paddock. They both were a bit bruised after the quick hookup on his desk, and he was holding her hand, leading her to a place she honestly had never seen._

_“Where are we?” Sarah asked, trying to adjust her eyes to the lack of light in the room._

_“This is the paddock’s control room. I want to show you something.” Owen explained._

_He then proceeded to press some buttons, making the panels light up._

_“This controls the paddock doors.” He pointed to a small touch screen. “It activates with mine and Barry’s handprint. Which are already registered.”_

_Sarah looked at him, puzzled. “Umm… nice?”_

_Owen chuckled. “Thing is, I want you to register your handprint too. You never know, in case of emergency” He told her with a smile._

_Sarah stared at him. “Wow… Should I be… flattered?”_

_“Well, yes” He shot her a cocky grin, before taking her hand and placing it on the screen._

_“Done” He announced, once the scan was complete. “Now you’ll be able to handle everything here and also be ready to come to my rescue if I ever get into trouble.”_

_She let out a small laugh and shook her head at him. “You’re amazing.”_

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sarah stepped out of her jeep, the chilly air of the night hitting her bones. She was immediately greeted with not too distant hisses and growls.

“Quiet” She murmured, more to herself than to the animals. “You’re about to get quite the experience” She chuckled evilly “You’ll thank me later.”

She clearly remembered the day Owen had brought her here. With a quick hand scan, she entered the control room. Once inside, she made sure to lock herself in, for good measure, then took a deep breath and turned on the control panel. First thing, she hacked the CCTV cameras - courtesy of her MIT graduate sister’s explanation - stalling them into showing a permanent image, tricking the park’s control center into believing everything was quiet. Child’s play. Then, after tapping here and there, she managed to turn off any possible sound alarm. Eventually, she let her finger hover over the bright green “open” button. 

Sarah looked at the time. 4:02AM. “Bye, suckers.” She muttered. "Thanks for having ruined my life, I hope you accept my gift to you" she ginned evilly, and with that, she tapped the screen.

She then immediately went up to the observation deck, and much to her delight, as soon as the gate was up enough, all four raptors sprinted under it and into the forest, as if they had already smelt a precise target to hit.

After making sure the beasts were distant enough, she went back to the control room, shut everything down and ran out to her car, driving home at full speed.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Claire groaned from her sitting position at the edge of her bed, rubbing her almost eight months pregnant belly. It was 5:00AM and she was mentally preparing herself for the day ahead of her.

“Claire. You don’t have to do this.” Owen mumbled from his side of the bed, still half asleep.

“Owen, it’s my last day out in the park. I have to make sure everything is fine before Zara takes over. It’s actually just a road trip, really. With some brief walks in the forest. Nothing I haven’t done before. I’ll be fine.” She reassured him with a smile. “I’m just groggy because I have to get up this early. But if it means I’ll be done by 7PM, I’m more than willing to do it.” She explained, her brain finally waking up and switching to Boss Mode.

Claire quickly kissed Owen on the cheek before she got up and started her day.

Once she got into her car, she studied her itinerary for the day. Most of her morning would have been spent in the forest, and she groaned, hitting her head against the driver’s seat. It was going to be a _long_ day.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Barry got to the raptor enclosure at exactly 6:30AM, happily whistling to himself because it was the attraction’s day off. Everyone who worked there took turns to go check on the raptors twice a day when they were resting, and today was his turn.

He felt something was off when he didn’t hear the chirping and occasional hissing as soon as he got out of his car. He approached the paddock carefully, afraid something was wrong with the dinosaurs. It didn’t take him long to notice the main gate was wide open.

“Que diable…? Oh, merde!” 

“OWEN!” He shouted into his phone, as soon as his friend picked up. He was driving recklessly towards his and Claire’s house. He didn’t know what to do.

“What?” Owen’s lazy response got on Barry’s nerves.

“Get the fuck up! The raptors have escaped.”

“Say what???” On the other end of the phone, Owen sprang up into a sitting position on the bed.

“You heard me. This is not a drill, Owen.”

“Shit.” Owen cursed, then realization dawned on him. “SHIT! FUCK! Claire’s out there. Barry, CLAIRE’S OUT THERE! MY CHILD’S OUT THERE!” He panicked.

At that, Barry slammed on the brakes and made a dangerous u-turn. 

“Merde. I’m going to find her, Owen. Where is she?”

“I have no fucking idea!! Call Zara and let me know, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“On it.”

“Oh, and Barry”

“Oui?”

“We should probably warn the whole damn park too. I’ll call Lowery and make him close some gates.”

“Right. We’ll find them, Owen, and Claire. We’re all gonna be fine.” Barry tried to reassure himself by speaking the words to his friend, but Owen had already hung up.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Claire had just arrived at the gallimimus valley when her phone rang. She looked at the screen before answering the call.

_What is Owen doing awake now?_

“Hello?” She picked up.

“Claire! Whe- …Don’t- …back!”

“Owen, I can’t hear you. There’s no reception here. Wait…”

She got out of the car and managed a wobbly walk to the top of the hill. “It should be better here” She was already panting due to her additional weight. “What were you-” She didn’t finish her sentence because she basically stopped breathing.

“Claire!! You need to go back, find someplace safe! The raptors have escaped!!” Came Owen’s voice.

“I-“ She gulped, “I know” Claire managed to let out, barely louder than a whisper. In front of her stood all four velociraptors, blood and feathers between their teeth, as they had apparently already found a good breakfast.

“Claire???” Owen was alarmed. 

“Owen… they’re… they’re right here…” Claire stuttered. Her mind went blank.

“WHAT? Claire, where are you???” Owen was panicked. 

 

No response.

 

“CLAIRE!!!”

She snapped back, still holding the pack’s gaze, whimpering. “Gallimimus…valley”

“Okay, God Claire, stay there. I’m coming.” Owen said in a panicked rush.

“O-kay”

She could faintly hear Owen turning on his bike before he hung up, but her mind was focused on Blue. She was the beta, as Owen had told her, so her sisters were just waiting for her signal to attack.

Strangely enough, though, the raptor was slowly walking to Claire, constantly sniffing the air, looking at her with an  - almost human - questioning gaze.

Claire held her breath as her hands tried to cover as much of her stomach as possible. “Blue” she whispered, her chest heavy. She couldn’t move. She was paralyzed with fear, for herself and for her baby. She couldn’t believe this would be how she’d die. She couldn’t believe the traumatizing experience from her internship summer was back.

Just as her life began flashing before her eyes, Blue let out a loud honk, snapping Claire out of her terror, and she watched the other three raptors suddenly lose the menacing attitude, chirping back and turning their attention to each other, playfully arguing, or so it seemed.

Only Blue kept her interest in Claire, moving further towards the woman. Claire didn’t move back, though, and before she knew it, Blue’s snout was touching one of her hands on her belly, sniffing and gurgling.

Claire’s eyes widened and she let out the breath she had been holding for the past minute, even managing a slight, incredulous smile. The raptor then started slightly nudging the baby bump, rubbing her nose against it and purring. It was surreal, but Claire was extremely relieved. Call it a motherly instinct, but she could now feel that Blue’s intentions were not harmful. Then she recalled Owen saying something about pheromones, and how the girls could easily tell what was going on by smelling them.

So it hit her. They probably knew their alpha’s baby was in there. And Claire was carrying it, which technically made her an alpha mate? Was that how it worked? In any case, the whole situation was just _wild_. Claire couldn’t believe her eyes.

Once she wrapped her head around it, she tentatively lifted a hand from her middle and reached out to touch the dinosaur’s scaled head. Blue immediately leaned into her touch, and Claire let out a half gasp - half nervous laugh at the surreal situation she was finding herself in.

“Hey there…” She softly addressed the creature. “That’s right, that’s your little brother or sister in there.” _Brother or sister??_ But it just sounded so right. Blue kept sniffing her, and Claire brought up her other hand to cradle the gentle raptor’s snout.

They looked into each other’s eyes for a bit, before Delta, Echo and Charlie timidly joined them. They were smelling the pheromones too, Blue chirping again to let them know that _yes, alpha baby is in there._ But the other raptors didn’t show much interest in interacting with Claire, preferring a small exploration of the surrounding area.

Blue, on the other hand, was still rather fascinated with the redhead, rubbing herself against her gently. Claire relaxed, smiling and giggling at the dinosaur’s manners. “You like that?” She said, gently scratching her chin. Blue chirped in response, pushing her head further into Claire’s hands, coming to rest on top of her bump.

The sound of an engine pulling up near them made Blue snap back at attention, calling for her sisters to come closer, all four raptors quickly standing between the offending noise and Claire, who was completely in awe of everything that was going on.

The growling immediately ceased, though, as soon as they smelled Owen. Blue was again the one to start happily honking, eliciting the same reaction from the others. She then turned to Claire and repeated the sound, as if to reassure her there was nothing to be scared of.

Owen ran up the hill at full speed, ready for action. His aggressive attitude, though, awoke a bit of a suspicion in the girls, who all returned to an ‘on edge’ status. As soon as the situation came into view, Owen abruptly stopped. Also, seeing Claire smiling got him rather confused.

“Claire, are you alright??” He panted.

“Yes, Owen, don’t worry, I- actually, they’re protecting me. So if you could kindly lose your temper, that’d be great. Especially for yourself.” She chuckled.

Owen’s shoulders visibly relaxed, but his eyebrows shot up. “What?” He let out, his chest still heavy.

“You were right about all the… pheromones… stuff. Blue acted just like a docile puppy. She knows I’m carrying your baby, honey.” Claire informed him, excitedly.

Owen’s eyes widened as he smiled. “Really?”

Claire nodded, and he took some steps towards her, passing the girls, who kept their eyes on him but understood that he was indeed no threat.

As soon as he got to Claire, Owen gathered her in his arms, kissing her deeply. He then pulled back and held her face in his hands. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I could have never forgiven myself if something had happened to you. Because of _my_ raptors. God, Claire, you don’t know how scared I was all the way here-”

Claire silenced him with a long, sweet kiss, caressing his stubbled cheeks with both her hands - the same hands that had done that to Blue just minutes earlier. “I know. I was scared too. But I’m okay. We’re okay” She reassured him, taking his hands and placing them on her belly. Owen’s forehead came to rest on hers. 

“I love you. So much.” He breathed out. 

Claire was about to reciprocate, when Blue’s honk interrupted their moment. Owen still couldn’t believe it. He had raised quite the pack. Boy, were they going to _talk the hell_ about that in the future.

 

 

* * *

 

 

A couple of days later, the news of the raptors’ behavior had spread like wildfire across the park - just like any other rumour there had ever been, honestly - and it had also made it in the news; furthermore, Jurassic World employees were now calling Claire and Owen’s kid _the Royal Baby,_ which actually pleased Owen, and Claire too, despite the constant roll of her eyes at the name.

The raptor show was now the most loved attraction, the girls had been safely put back in their paddock and park security were already working to find out who had let them out.

 

Claire and Owen were enjoying an evening walk on main street, happily stopping at everyone who wanted to congratulate them or even take a picture. They felt like small celebrities, but they were enjoying it. They were in love and nothing could take that away from them.

At one point, though, Owen abruptly stopped, making Claire slightly lose her balance, for her arm was still linked with his. “Owen, what are you-” she started, but Owen quickly silenced her with a kiss, earning quite a lot of whistles and cheering noises from the people nearby. Claire pulled back - she had never loved PDAs - and looked at him questioningly.

Owen cleared his throat. “Right. You see, Claire…” He started. “Do you remember this place?”

Claire turned her head as she took in her surroundings. _Mark’s steakhouse._

She narrowed her eyes and pointed her thumb behind her back. “Is this…” Owen’s eager nod spurred her on, “Is this where we had lunch the day after we first met?”

“Yup.” He grinned.

She pursed her lips. “Owen, we already ate, I know I’m always hungry lately, but-”

“That’s not why we’re here” Owen smiled and slightly rolled his eyes at her.

“You see…” He tried to explain, and then he _did that._

Claire’s eyes widened as she watched Owen get down on one knee, pulling a small velvet box from his back pocket. _How did I fail to feel that thing earlier?_ She briefly mused, but she couldn’t care less at the moment.

Claire gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, as did half of the people around them.

“Claire Dearing” Owen took a deep breath “You came into my life like a goddamn hurricane. Only you could have the power to turn it upside down. I thought I was settled, but I was not. You caught my attention from the very first time that I saw you, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you ever since. You are my everything, and you’re about to give me a kid. Which I think was the greatest sign that we were meant to be. I don’t regret anything that we’ve done, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are the most beautiful, most stubborn, and sweetest ice queen I have ever met. I love you so much, Claire.” He took a dramatic pause, before adding: “Will you marry me?” And with that, he opened the box, revealing a stunning, white gold ring, with a sinuous trail of tiny embedded diamonds making their way from left to right, becoming slightly bigger in the middle and then narrowing back at the sides.

His speech brought tears to Claire’s eyes at first, which later quickly turned into uncontrollable sobs. She managed to eagerly nod through them.

“Yes. Yes, of course, Owen.” She brought her left hand out for him to slide the ring on her finger, before standing up and wrapping her in a hug. Once they pulled back, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought his lips down to hers in a passionate kiss. She looked at him through tears when they parted. “I love you so much.”

People around them cheered even louder, as if they were their biggest fans. All, except one.

 

Sarah stood on the opposite end of the street, clutching her strawberry smoothie in her hand, on the verge of completely crushing the plastic cup. Not only had her plan failed but it was backfiring right in front of her. Her (former) colleague - now employee - and friend Jennifer was standing beside her, her breath caught in her throat.

“Oh, girlie, let’s get out of here. You don’t deserve to see this.” She suggested, tugging on her arm.

Sarah didn’t respond. Instead, she tossed her drink in a bin and started marching towards the happy couple that was stealing everyone’s attention.

Owen spotted her first. He was still half hugging Claire, who then followed his gaze, terror eventually settling upon her face. Neither of them knew what to do, but their fear subsided once Sarah was forcefully grabbed by two large security men in the middle of the street.

“Miss Phillips, you’ve been identified as responsible for the release of four dangerous velociraptors in the park three nights ago.” One of the men spoke. “Your handprints have been found all over the control room screens, so there’s no need to try to deny it. Please come with us.”

Everyone gasped at that, but Claire’s intake of breath was the loudest. She gently pried herself away from Owen’s grasp, squeezing his bicep to reassure him, as she went into Boss Mode once again and made her way to the two guards escorting Sarah.

“Paul! Ron! Wait a minute!” She called after them.

They both stopped, registering they’re boss’ presence, and turned around.

“Miss Dearing” Paul spoke, “We found-”

“I know” Claire interrupted him, “I saw the whole scene. I just wanted to inform you, and Miss Phillips as well, that such action from her was the last straw for me. I can perfectly assume what her intentions were with it, so I just want to let you know she’s absolutely fired, and banned from the island as well. I want her gone by tomorrow.”

She shot one last, disgusted look at Sarah as the guards nodded to her, and continued escorting the brunette to the island’s police station.

Claire mentally scolded herself for not having fired her earlier, but thankfully, it was all over now. She put on a smile for the crowd, which cheered again, and went back to Owen, who was beaming at her, as proud as a man could be of the woman he loved.


	16. Beautiful Trauma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The last chapter. I can't believe I have finished my first ever fanfiction, guys, I wanna cry. Thanks for all the support, and enjoy!!

_There's nothing, no nothing, nothing but you_   
_My perfect rock bottom_   
_My beautiful trauma_   
_My love, my love, my drug, oh_

 

* * *

 

 

Claire was sitting behind her desk, her 34 weeks pregnant belly putting some space between her and the table. Now that she was on leave from her outdoors duties, the days in her office felt endless. Her thoughts always revolved around Owen and their baby. She would spend the morning counting the hours left till lunch break, enjoying much larger meals now than she used to, and in the afternoons she would just fill boring paperwork as quick as possible so she could get home early. Her body was responding well to the toll of pregnancy, especially after her doctor made sure everyone around her knew to keep her as stress-free as possible, but she couldn’t help feeling sore in her back and feet. She also desperately needed to entertain herself, because sure, office work did the job, but albeit stressless, it was boring to death.

That’s why as soon as she heard Zara talking about a visit from potential investors from behind her office door, she jumped at the chance.

“Zara, I am your boss, and also, as manager of Jurassic World, I have the _right_ to be the one to show them around!” Claire protested, hands on her hips, accentuating her protruding belly. 

Zara looked at her as she tried her best to stifle a snort. Then she shook her head. “Uh-huh Claire, not happening. I’m sure they will be glad to meet you in your office and they will fully understand the reason why you can’t exactly walk around the park for a whole day. Especially when you keep wearing heels.” Zara pointed out, eyeing Claire’s footwear with a questioning, yet amused expression.

Claire sighed and threw her head backwards, just like a pouting child. “But Zara!” She sounded exasperated. “You have _no idea_ how I feel sitting behind that desk all day. And I would only show them around in the afternoon, because we have a meeting in the morning, so it’s not for a whole day.” She retorted, raising her eyebrows and looking at her assistant like the point she had just made should have _obviously_ convinced her.

Zara stared at her boss in silence for a moment, before sighing in defeat, which immediately earned a satisfied smile from Claire. 

“But!” Zara added, “I will come with you. And the second I see you struggling I’m taking over.” She warned her with a stern but concerned glance.

Claire waved her hand. “Whatever, Zara. I’m pregnant, not sick.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

One week later, Claire got home from work rather excited. Or at least, that’s how Owen found her once he closed their apartment door behind him. Cooking dinner for the both of them. It’s not that Claire never cooked, but she was just an average cook. Some pasta, steak or the occasional not-so-bad attempt at homemade pizza, which mostly happened on weekends and together with Owen as well.

Tonight, though, Owen felt a ton of different smells lingering in the penthouse. Also, by the looks of it - pots and pans scattered everywhere and different open packages of _good stuff_ \- Claire was apparently really into preparing a full course meal.

Owen walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, hands coming to rest on her swollen stomach, caressing it lightly and enjoying the now familiar feeling of their baby moving underneath it.

“Mmh, hi.” He mumbled into her ear, which made Claire’s whole body shiver. “Damn, babe, whatever you are doing, it looks and smells amazing.” He silently thanked her by kissing the side of her neck and letting his lips stay there afterwards too, closing his eyes and enjoying his fiancée’s incredible smell.

Claire smiled and leaned into his touch. “I felt like cooking for you tonight.” She replied, the volume of her voice matching his. Then she let out a small chuckle and crinkled her nose.

“Just, honey, go take a shower before your own raptor smell takes over this.”

Owen smiled into her neck. “Only if you join me.”

Claire playfully rolled her eyes. _Obviously._ “Owen, I have to check on dinner, I can’t just leave everything here.” She looked at him pitifully, “But I promise I’ll make it up to you later.” She smirked, before pecking his lips. 

Owen grinned. “Be right back.”

 

 

Owen plopped down on the couch, stomach full to the brim, after having greedily eaten all the food that his soon to be wife had made for him.

Claire joined him after having thrown the last dish in the dishwasher, and started trailing kisses from his clothed chest to his forehead.

“Woah, easy there, mama bear.” Owen chuckled. “Wait a second, I really need to let dessert down…Before having my second one” He playfully wiggled his eyebrows.

Claire smiled. “Of course, Mr Grady. I just couldn’t resist not touching you for so long.” She looked at him fondly, caressing his hair and jaw, which eventually led them to exchanging small sweet gestures while preparing to settle on the couch for their usual post dinner movie-watching-turning-to-sex session.

Owen was softly brushing his lips on her shoulder when he asked, amused, “Why are you so excitable tonight?” 

Claire smiled, enjoying his ministrations. “Mmm, probably because I convinced Zara to let me show investors around the park tomorrow, after more than two months of office rest.” She said, playing with his fingers on her belly.

Owen stopped his movements, which elicited a weak needy whimper from Claire. 

“Claire…” He started, concerned.

“No, Owen, please, I know what I’m doing.” Claire immediately interrupted his protest. “Zara is coming with me. And it’s just in the afternoon. And we’re not going through the whole park. Just the village and main, closer attractions. I just need this so bad or I’ll go mad” She turned her head around just so she could look him in the eye with a sad puppy face. To which Owen obviously couldn’t resist.

He held her gaze for a little while, trying to be stern but eventually his eyes softened and he sighed, right hand coming up to tuck her loose hair behind her ear. “I know you’re strong, baby. And you know what’s best for our little one in there. But just promise me you won’t hold onto your pride, admitting defeat if you can’t do it. Alright?”

Claire smiled lovingly at him and, albeit with some technical difficulties due to her precious cargo, she managed to turn in his arms, facing him, as she eagerly brought her lips to his. Once they parted, she mumbled against him. “Actually, that’s not the only thing I would go mad without.”

Owen smirked devilishly at that, before getting back to attacking her lips with his own.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Claire was beaming. She was sat next to Zara at their table in the fanciest restaurant on the island, along with the potential investors. The morning meeting had gone smoothly and flawlessly, and every one of the four middle aged men had looked very impressed. One of them in particular, a chubby, balding individual, Mr Duff, looked like a kind hearted man. Differently from the other three, who were giving out the usual business vibe of ‘I got married three times and I still cheat on my wife, who I only see for one hour before going to sleep because I just care about money and getting laid whenever I please’.

Seeing a heavily pregnant woman being capable of such convincing oratory business skills, though, had settled them all down. Claire couldn’t wait to get back on the streets of Jurassic World again and boss them - and honestly, everyone else too - around.

Zara walked dutifully three steps behind Claire while walking alongside the main lake, listening to her boss cheerfully explaining all the good reasons why a wellness center overlooking the blue lagoon would be a perfect fit for rainy days, therefore attracting more visitors.

Claire felt invincible. Her now long and wavy red locks were bouncing confidently with her every step, employees almost bowing down as she passed and visitors timidly asking for pictures or autographs - the whole raptor escape news had made it all around the globe, after all. She felt worshipped.

Obviously, life couldn’t get that good for so long, could it? Because just as they were approaching the innovation center, the very beating heart of Jurassic World, Claire felt a shot of excruciating pain rippling through her body. It caught her _so_ by surprise, that she didn’t have time to mask it, not even a little bit. She had never felt so much physical pain in her life.

She cried out, doubling over and clutching her stomach, legs bending. If it hadn’t been for Zara, who promptly dropped all the files she was holding to rush to her boss and try to hold her up, Claire would have surely collapsed on the ground.

Even the four businessmen tried to help her, obviously taken aback by the sudden mood change.

Claire quickly tried to recompose herself. _This is not happening. Not now._  

“Oh God, I’m deeply sorry. The baby sometimes kicks like crazy and-” She couldn’t finish as another sharp pain took her breath away.

Zara, who hadn’t let go of her grip on Claire yet, tightened it again as her eyes became impossibly wide with fear. “Claire. Please. You need to sit down.” She didn’t know what to do, she had never seen her in such a weakened state.

The huge crowd around them weren’t helping either. Some of them even started taking videos, to which Zara wanted to yell like a mad hyena, but she was too focused on keeping Claire upright at the moment.

The investors, though, were rather understanding. “Miss Dearing” Mr Duff started, “You need to rest. Or maybe seek medical advice if the pain persists. It’s evident that you are not fit enough to walk around in this state, in this heat. Please, we’ll be more than willing to take a small break in order for you to feel better, then I’m sure your assistant will be more than capable of taking over for you.”

Claire managed to hide her grimace. “Oh no, Mr Duff, thank you so much for your concern but like I said, it’s nothing that has not happened before. Just a little more painful this time, and I’m sorry for causing such a scene. It just caught me off guard.” She lied. Truth to be told, she was drowning in distress. She just hoped it really was only a very hard kick.

Claire looked at Zara’s pale face and the investors’ not entirely convinced looks. She decided to brush them off, though, _I’m already getting stares from everyone around here,_ and she turned around, ready to enter the volcano-shaped building and show them all it had to offer.

As she began to take a step forward, though, she felt another doubling-over-worthy jolt of pain, this time associated with a very wet feeling and a loud _splash_ on the concrete floor, followed by gasps from the crowd and businessmen and a loud curse by Zara, who almost passed out right there and then.

Claire froze, legs slightly apart as she clutched her stomach and stared in horror at the clear-pinkish liquid dripping down her legs and the large stain it had made on the ground.

She couldn’t move, and she was breathing heavily, but she soon got distracted from her current situation by more stinging pain radiating through her body. At that, she couldn’t hold herself and let out the most bloodcurdling shriek ever heard by humankind, gaining the attention of basically every single person in a 500 foot radius.

Claire suddenly didn’t give a damn about the investors anymore. They could badmouth her and the park for all she cared. She didn’t even care about the guests watching her. All she wanted was for her pain to go away. It felt like she was dying. Tears started streaming down her face, as what she now admitted to herself was a contraction, kept rippling through her helpless body. _This can’t be happening. It’s six weeks too early._

Everyone around her watched the scene in horror. The boss of Jurassic World, screaming in pain right in the heart of her park, just as her water broke under her.

Zara was now officially _panicked._ “Oh my god!” She yelled, her voice almost matching Claire’s. “Someone call 911, NOW.” She ordered, and, ironically enough, the most serious-looking of the investors promptly obeyed her orders, quickly dealing the number.

Once Zara saw that, she nodded and proceeded to grab her own phone, all while trying to soothe a desperate Claire and shooing away visitors who got too close.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The crowd cheered once again as they watched the park’s raptors jump up on a pedestal and staying still, following their handler’s orders.

“Yeah, that’s it girls! You’re being exceptionally good today.” Owen preached, his voice traveling through the small clip-on microphone to the loud speakers of the show paddock.

“Now” He continued, talking to the audience, “You’ll see just how _well_ raptors can be trained. Ever witnessed a vicious predator not eating a tasty looking meal just because they were told not to? I don’t think so.”

He was basking in the _ooh_ ’s and _aah_ ’s of the awaiting crowd when he heard Barry desperately shouting at him.

“Owen!! Come down, it’s Zara! She said it’s urgent.” 

It took Owen no time to connect the dots. He knew Claire was out walking through the park at that time of the day, so he quickly excused himself from his platform and rushed downstairs, panic already settling in.

He basically snatched his phone from Barry’s hand.

“Zara, what is it?” He panted.

“Owen, it’s Claire, I think… I think she’s gone into labour.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Owen burst the hospital room’s door open, rushing to Claire’s side as soon as he spotted her frame on the bed. She looked scared and sweaty.

“Oh, baby…baby… look at me” He gently caressed her face, trying to get her to focus on him. “It’s gonna be okay. We’re all gonna be okay.”

“Owen, it’s…too…early…” She barely found her voice.

“Shhh… no, it’s fine. The doctor said it would be fine remember? The baby is very strong. Now breathe.” He said, pressing a kiss to her hair. Owen’s heart was thumping against his chest. He was actually going to be a father soon. He couldn’t believe it.

Claire nodded shakily, the pain of contractions still persistent. Zara was outside calling Claire’s family, and some security too, to keep at bay the tons of people who had come to witness the birth of the jurassic Royal Baby, as they had labeled it.

 

 

Two hours later, it was time. Nurses started rushing in and out of Claire’s room, Owen had taken his place beside her, and Claire herself had called in Zara as well for support. Also because Jen Dearing had begged the brit to take a video of it if they didn’t manage to reach Isla Nublar in time.

“Okay honey” Nurse Helen, who had followed Claire since she came in, said. “You need to breathe in, and then push as hard as you can. Got it?”

Claire managed to nod through tears, squeezing Owen’s hand like her life depended on it. 

The potential investors had decided to show their care for the park by politely declining a ride to the hotel and instead stay and wait for the Operations Manager to give birth, so they could congratulate her strength and determination. All the other waiting room seats were occupied by the first twenty ‘lucky’ park guests who had made it inside to witness the event.

The waiting room went silent as soon as Claire’s cries started filling the air. Everyone held their breaths. People looked at one another, concerned, every time they heard an agonizing scream come from the nearby room. Even the other nurses had stopped doing what they were doing. Little did Claire know, the whole park outside of the hospital walls, had stopped running. If her situation could have been broadcasted, everyone would have been glued to a screen, for sure.

Thirty painful minutes later, a baby cry was heard. Claire collapsed back on the hospital bed, a blissful smile on her exhausted face, as she could also hear people outside her room cheer like there was no tomorrow. In no time, the joy was spread outside as well, which she could hear from the hospital window.

“There she is!!” Nurse Helen exclaimed, and Owen grabbed Claire’s head and kissed it fondly, before going to cut the newborn’s umbilical cord.

As the infant was placed into her mother’s arms, both parents looked at her with all the love they could give her. Even Zara was now fully crying.

“Hey, Sophie” Claire said through tears. “You’re so beautiful.” 

Owen’s fingers couldn’t stop tracing the baby’s features, all while repeatedly kissing Claire’s hair and face, wherever he could reach. “You’re my beautiful princess. Yes, you are.” He cooed. “I love you both so much” 

Claire shot him a tired smile. “We love you too.”

 

* * *

 

Claire’s parents and sister had arrived in a rush just one hour later, immediately filling the room with loving comments and congratulations, Jen watching the video Zara had taken, basically on a loop.

Even Rob managed to congratulate Owen through tears, also having seen in person that the blessing he had given him was now shining on his daughter’s left ring finger.

 

 

“I think we’re gonna do it” Claire whispered, startling a dozing off Owen and making him rise from his chair beside her. The initial excitement had worn off, making everyone slowly and reluctantly return to their activities, leaving the new parents alone in the room.

“Huh?” He approached her on the bed, proudly taking in the sight of Claire cradling their daughter.

“I said I think we’re gonna be good parents, Owen.” 

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah we are, honey.” He agreed, kissing her lips first and his daughter’s tiny cheek second. He sat beside Claire, taking wrapping his arms around his family.

“You know” He told her softly “If you told me this was gonna happen, one year ago…”

“Crazy, I know” Claire finished for him, smiling.

“But perfect” Owen corrected.

“Yes.” Claire looked up at him with nothing but pure love in her eyes. “Perfect.”

 


End file.
